


i get hysterical (hysteria)

by gilligankane



Series: you can tell everybody this is your song [23]
Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: 80's Music, F/F, Mixtape
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-01 05:08:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 31,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13991133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gilligankane/pseuds/gilligankane
Summary: “This is the worst day of my life,” Nicole groans, standing in the living room in sweatpants and a sports bra.Wynonna steps out of the kitchen, the phone still pressed to her ear. The cord stretches and pulls Wynonna back a step. “Get a freaking cordless phone,” she growls.Nicole grinds her back teeth together, following Wynonna into the kitchen. “Today is not the day for this, Wynonna.”





	1. i'm in luck

**Author's Note:**

> WELCOME TO THE 3-PART SPECIAL EDITION, the search is over (you were with me all along). This single, i get hysterical (hysteria), is part 3 of a 3-part series that follows Waverly and Nicole over a huge nine-month period of their lives.
> 
> ‘M’ rating applies for Side B.

**“Hysteria” Def Leppard, 1987  
** _Oh, I get hysterical, hysteria. Oh, can you feel it, do you believe it? It's such a magical mysteria when you get that feelin', better start believin'. 'Cause it's a miracle, oh say you will, ooh babe. Hysteria when you're near._

“This is what the end of the world looks like, isn’t it?” Nicole asks herself as she steps over a pile of clothes in the living room. She recognizes some of her band shirts and a pair of her good jeans; there’s one of her old Red Wing 875 boots hiding under her Def Leppard _Slang_ shirt. She scowls. “Wynonna.”

A head pops up from over the back of the couch. “What?” Wynonna mumbles.

Nicole takes a deep breath, her hand clenched into a fist at her side. “Were you trying on my clothes last night?”

Wynonna flops back out of sight with a groan.

“Wynonna,” Nicole says again. She looks back down at the pile.

“Roller, I’ve got a hangover the size of the entire town,” Wynonna starts. “If you could just-”

“My REO Speedwagon shirt?” Nicole interrupts, yanking the shirt off the floor. “You were wearing my REO Speedwagon shirt?”

Wynonna sighs and sits up, running her hand through her hair before rubbing it across her face. Nicole storms around the back of the couch, coming to a stop in front of Wynonna. She holds the shirt up in one hand, her other on her hip.

“My _REO Speedwagon_ shirt?”

Wynonna winces. “Nicole, it’s _so_ early.”

Nicole shakes her head. “What’s my rule, Wynonna?”

“Never touch your tapes,” Wynonna recites, one corner of her mouth twitching.

Nicole stomps her foot a little, feeling ten years old again and demanding to get her turn playing on the Pac-Man machine at Shorty’s.

“ _In a minute_ ,” Wynonna had kept saying, until finally Shorty was flipping the ‘Open’ sign to ‘Closed’ on the front door and threatening to call Curtis to come pick them up if they didn’t leave.

“Don’t drink the last beer and leave you an IOU on a paper towel,” Wynonna says.

Nicole exhales through her nose, her jaw tightening.

“If I commit a crime, don’t be stupid enough to get caught,” Wynonna tries.

“ _Wynonna_ ,” Nicole hisses.

Wynonna rolls her eyes. “Don’t wear the shirts in the third drawer,” she mumbles. She looks up at Nicole. “I don’t understand why you’re _so_ wound up about that drawer. They’re just shirts.”

Nicole holds the REO Speedwagon shirt tight to her chest and looks away. “They’re just-”

“ _Meaningful_ ,” Wynonna mocks. “I know.” She stretches her arms over her head and Nicole winces again when Wynonna’s shoulder makes a soft _pop_ as she twists. “What time is it?”

Nicole checks her Casio. “0630.”

Wynonna blinks at her.

“6:30,” Nicole says. “That one wasn’t even hard.”

Wynonna smiles suddenly. “I know. I just like when you get all huffy about it.”

Nicole sighs wearily, running her hand through her hair. “Wynonna-”

“Okay, okay,” Wynonna says, holding her hands up in surrender. “I’m done. Promise.”

Nicole feels her shoulders sag a little and she drops to the coffee table, perching on the edge of it. She looks around the apartment and swallows heavily. “Thanks for coming over. She’s a little-”

“Insane?” Wynonna interrupts. “Obsessed?”

Nicole scoffs. “That’s a nice way to put it.”

Wynonna looks around the living room. “There’s nothing _nice_ about this.”

“School doesn’t start for another month,” Nicole says. “And she’s not working at The Patch, so when I’m at work, she’s just… _planning_.” Nicole looks at the coffee table, spotting an open can of Moosehead. She nudges it; there’s still some left. She wonders how awful it would taste if she picked it up and chugged the rest of it right now.

Wynonna reaches out and grabs the can, draining what’s left of the beer in one go. She puts it down and winces, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “Trust me,” she says. “You didn’t want that.”

Nicole sighs. “I know.”

“It wasn’t like it was difficult to come over,” Wynonna says. “It was that, or another night with John Henry.”

Nicole raises an eyebrow. “John Henry, huh? What did he do?”

Wynonna scowls. “I caught him at the garage with a bunch of Blue Devils.”

Nicole frowns. “What was he doing with them?”

“ _Mentoring_ them,” Wynonna grumbles.

Nicole’s eyes widen in surprise. _Why didn’t I think of that?_ she asks herself. The Blue Devils and the Revenants have been at each other’s throats, tearing up the back roads of the Ghost River Triangle, for as long as Nicole can remember. Doc had gotten his invitation to the Blue Devils young, and even if he aged out, he never really stopped being a Blue Devil.

Nicole makes a mental note to talk to Doc soon. Maybe between his past Blue Devil experience and her community outreach skills, they can come up with some type of program that gets kids out of the gangs and off the streets and puts them in after-school jobs and interest groups. Ever since Leslie moved up from Edmonton and took over the local girls’ club, she’s been able to start more clubs and programs. _Maybe Doc could do some volunteer hours there. Or a weekly workshop on engines and car maintenance_.

It’s been almost ten years since Doc turned over his blue bandana to Mark Lang, and a lot of things have changed, but some things haven’t. Those kids still take their cars way too seriously.

“Like some kind of after-school special,” Wynonna continues. “He invited them over for dinner and they were talking about life goals and…” She throws her hands up in the air. “There was so much talk about the future that I couldn’t even breathe in there.”

“Well,” Nicole says after a minute. “Thanks, still.”

Wynonna waves her away. “It’s, like, my duty. Right? As maid of honor?”

“You’re _my_ maid of honor, though.”

Wynonna shrugs. “And Waverly is my baby sister.” Something flashes across Wynonna’s face for a moment. “It’s the least I can do, right?”

Nicole reaches out and drops her hand to Wynonna’s knee, squeezing softly before she takes a deep breath. “What time did you guys get to sleep last night?”

Wynonna squints across the room at the clock on the wall. “I’m not sure. After midnight?”

“I’m surprised you didn’t sleep in the bed,” Nicole says, pushing her palms down against her knees briefly. She stands up, hissing softly when her knee cracks.

“I _tried_ ,” Wynonna mumbles. “But that attack dog of yours kicks.”

Nicole frowns. “Styx _snuggles_. He doesn’t kick.”

“I was talking about Waverly.” Wynonna winks and ducks her head when Nicole reaches out to swat at her. “I’m not kidding. Put a few Zimas in that girl, and she’s like the mechanical bull at Casa’s in Medicine Hat.”

Nicole feels her face flush. She throws her REO Speedwagon shirt onto the armchair next to the couch and starts to unbutton her uniform shirt. At this point, she’s pretty sure if she takes it off, it’ll hold its shape after wearing it so long. Nicole wrinkles her nose as she pulls at the collar, loosening it around her neck. It smells like the stale coffee Lonnie splashed on it when he tripped, his cup in his hand on his way back to his desk.

“Long night?” Wynonna asks, standing up.

Nicole nods, finally getting the last button undone. She lets her shirt hang open as she untucks it. “Lonnie and I were working in the station tonight. I’m trying to weed through the reports coming through CPIC about the Highway 63 Trade, but it’s like trying to find-”

“A missed comma in a records book?” Wynonna finishes.

Nicole wrinkles her nose. “Probably a lot like that, yeah.”

Wynonna sighs. “Tell me about it. Gus misplaced a comma in the budget last month, and I went into panic mode.” She stretches her arms above her head. “Trying to figure out where a thousand dollars disappeared to is _not_ what I signed up for.”

“You like it, though?” Nicole asks, putting her foot up on the coffee table. She unties her Oxford, loosening the laces so she can slide the shoe off. She sighs in relief as the shoe hits the floor and she wiggles her toes.

She _hates_ night shifts.

“Like what?” Wynonna asks. She drifts across the room and stands in front of Nicole’s stereo system, picking up the tape Nicole left there last night, when she realized that if she didn’t leave immediately, she’d be late for work.

“The books. The budgeting.” Nicole shrugs. “The whole, running the Patch thing.”

“ _Helping_ run The Patch,” Wynonna corrects. She looks away, across the room. A soft smile stretches across her face. “Yeah. I do.” She turns suddenly, eyes on Nicole. “Do you ever feel like you’re doing exactly what you were supposed to be doing? With your life, I mean?”

Nicole thinks back to being eight, declaring herself one of the ‘Cops’ in their game of ‘Cops and Robbers.’ She thinks about standing on Gus’s porch at sixteen, telling Gus she wants to be a cop someday and guys like Mr. La Pierre aren’t going to stop her. She swallows heavily and nods. “Yeah,” she manages to say. “Yeah, I do.”

Wynonna nods back at her. “That’s how I feel, too.”

Nicole smiles softly. “Good.”

Wynonna gives her a crooked smile in return and lifts an arm to smell her armpit. She wrinkles her nose and Nicole gags.

“So, how the highway trap thing going?” Wynonna asks. “Waverly says it’s been keeping you up at night.”

Nicole shrugs. “There’s just… _more_ there. And I can’t put my finger on it yet, but I will.”

“Of course you will,” Wynonna says confidently.

Nicole snorts. “Waverly said the same thing.”

“Where do you think she gets her brains from?” Wynonna asks, puffing her chest out.

“Gus?” Nicole offers.

Wynonna scowls at her.

Nicole lowers her voice. “I have a… a suspicion about this Highway 63 Trade thing, but I’m afraid to pitch it to Nedley.”

Wynonna looks up from the cassette she’s turning over in her hand. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why’re you afraid?”

Nicole thinks about confidentiality and how important it is - to her and to her job. She fumbles around with the idea in her head, starting and stopping sentences before she figures out how to say it out loud. “If I tell him, and I’m right, it’s going to hurt people,” she finally says. “And if I tell him, and I’m wrong, then…”

Wynonna stares at her for a moment, her tongue wetting her bottom lip as she thinks. “You’re smart. And you care about people,” She nods, seemingly satisfied with something. “You’ll tell him when you have enough evidence to support your theory.”

“Support my theory,” Nicole echoes.

Wynonna rolls her eyes. “How hard is it for you people to realize that I _listen_ to you?” she asks, smiling to take the anger out of her words.

Nicole unlaces her other shoe before picking them both up and carrying them to the mat by the door. “Excuse me for being surprised you listen to me. I wouldn’t have guessed that based on the first almost-twenty years of our friendship.”

Wynonna sticks her tongue out at Nicole, lifting one hand and flipping her off.

Nicole puts a hand over her heart, sighing softly. “And there’s the Wynonna I know and love.”

“Don’t let Waverly hear you,” Wynonna warns, joking. She looks at the clock again and then at the closed bedroom door. “Shouldn’t you get her up?” Wynonna asks.

Nicole shakes her head. “If she didn’t wake up when I got home, she probably needs the sleep.” She frowns. “I mean, she _definitely_ needs the sleep. Some days, it’s almost like she’s a ghost floating through the apartment. I haven’t seen her this wound up since she was working on her thesis project.”

“She was born in Hungary, you know,” Wynonna says. “Big Nose Kate.”

Nicole looks at Wynonna and lifts an eyebrow.

“You weren’t the only one she called to read her speech to,” Wynonna says matter-of-factly. “And also, we went through some of her old college work last night because she was convinced she could set up the seating chart so that it looked like the troops encampments in the Wolseley Expedition. Or something like that.”

Nicole blinks a few times, but shakes her head. “Styx didn’t come out here either, or scratch at the door, which means that she’s got him pinned down.”

“He’s probably dog-tired, too.” Wynonna wiggles her eyebrows. “Get it? _Dog_ -tired.”

Nicole sighs heavily. “I get it.”

“You were more fun before you were engaged,” Wynonna mumbles.

“I didn’t laugh at stupid jokes before I got engaged, and I’m not going to laugh at them now,” Nicole says.

Wynonna ignores her, moving back to the couch as she pats the back pockets of her jeans. “Styx had a lot to eat last night anyway.”

Nicole narrows her eyes. “What did you bring?”

Wynonna shrugs a shoulder. “Food.”

Nicole walks towards the kitchen, spotting the empty take-out containers on the counter. “Were all of those full?”

Wynonna pulls her hand out from between the couch cushion and back, holding her wallet triumphantly above her head. “I ate some of the fries on the way here.”

Nicole groans, pressing the heel of her palm against her forehead. “Wynonna, you have to stop feeding him human food. It’s not good for his stomach.”

Wynonna waves a hand at her. “It’s okay in moderation. I asked Dr. Feelgood the last time he came into The Patch.” She winks. “I mean, Dr. Freedman.”

Nicole pretends to gag.

“It’s not my fault he’s, like, the ghost of River Phoenix,” Wynonna says defensively. She tips her head to one side. “Though, he looks a lot like Ethan Hawke, too.”

Nicole ignores her. “In _moderation_ ,” she says firmly. “But you bringing over pounds of bacon for him is not moderate. It’s excessive.”

“So is your tape collection, but _noooo_ , we can’t talk about that,” Wynonna fires back.

Nicole’s head snaps up. “Take it back.”

Wynonna shakes her head. “Nope.”

“Take it back,” Nicole repeats, moving across the living room in Wynonna’s direction.

Wynonna holds a tape - _Chicago 19_ \- out in front of her. “You can’t make me.”

Nicole stops short, narrowing her eyes. “Are you _challenging_ me?”

Wynonna tosses the tape into the air and Nicole holds her breath as it tumbles end over end. It lands back into Wynonna’s hand with a _smack_ and Wynonna grins.

“Don’t,” Nicole warns.

Wynonna reaches back blindly, grabbing another tape off the stereo. Nicole can barely see the lettering on the spine - Bad Company’s _Fame and Fortune_ \- before Wynonna starts waving it in her direction. “Think I can juggle?”

“Wynonna…”

“Cassettes have to be easier than knives, right?”

Nicole shudders, thinking about the time Wynonna nearly lost a toe when she tried to juggle after watching someone do it on America’s Funniest Home Videos. _Thank god for steel toed boots_ , she thinks. “Wynonna,” she says again.

Wynonna winks at her and tosses the Bad Company tape into the air. Nicole lunges for it, catching it as Wynonna dips to the side and out of her reach. Nicole pauses for a moment to carefully put the tape down on the stereo before she turns neatly on her heel and takes two running steps before she jumps, catching Wynonna around the shoulders. They fall to the ground with a _thud_ and Wynonna yelps, trying to scramble out from under her hold when they hit the floor.

“Say ‘uncle’!” Nicole demands.

Wynonna laughs, twisting under her. “No way.”

Nicole digs her fingers into Wynonna’s sides, pressing down hard enough that Wynonna shouts and elbows her in the stomach.

“Say it!”

“You’ll never catch me alive,” Wynonna shouts back.

Nicole wiggles her fingers. “I already caught you. Now say ‘uncle’.”

Wynonna sucks in a breath and holds it, her cheeks turning red.

Nicole laughs, pushing Wynonna’s hair out of her face and letting her weight go. She hears the air rush out of Wynonna’s lungs with a _whoosh_ and Nicole laughs again, turning her head to the side. She frowns for a second as tries to figure out what she’s seeing. Jammed up under the pile of clothes she stepped over earlier, the Def Leppard _Slang_ shirt and her Red Wings 875, it looks like a list.

Or, what a list would look like after Styx gnawed on it.

She keeps one arm pressed against Wynonna’s back, reaching for the list with her other hand. It _is_ a list. She recognizes Wynonna’s name. And then Chrissy’s and Perry’s. She pushes back one of the wet edges to get a better look at it. There’s her mom’s name and Gus and Linda and… “Oh, no,” she breathes out.

Wynonna’s head pops up off the floor. “ _Oh, no_ what?”

“Oh, no _what_?” Waverly asks from the doorway of the bedroom.

Nicole looks up quickly, disoriented for a moment before she focuses on Waverly. “Hi, baby,” she says, her words too fast to sound normal.

Waverly pauses in the middle of rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Nicole feels her stomach flop a little - Waverly is in Nicole’s Journey _Frontiers_ tour shirt and not a lot else, the hem of the shirt hanging just above the middle of her thighs. Styx pads up next to, dropping at her feet and blinking at Nicole.

“What happened?” Waverly asks.

“Nothing,” Nicole says quickly.

“Tell me,” Waverly insists, her voice rising into a pitch that makes Nicole wince.

Nicole stands up, shoving the list behind her back and into the back pocket of her uniform pants. “It’s nothing, honest.”

Waverly narrows her eyes. “You’re lying.”

“Liar, liar, pants on fire,” Wynonna mumbles from the floor.

“Shut up,” Nicole hisses.

Waverly’s eyes travel over Nicole’s face and down her arms. “Give it to me.”

Slowly, Nicole pulls the list out from behind her back and holds it out for Waverly.

Waverly inhales sharply.

“It’s fine,” Nicole tries to say. “I’ll rewrite the list and-and…” She trails off and takes a deep breath. “Okay, you know what? We need to get out of this apartment. _You_ need to get out of this apartment.” She turns and looks back at Wynonna, hoping Wynonna can understand the question she’s not asking.

Waverly looks up and shakes her head, cheeks wet. “No, I have to rewrite this list and I need to reorganize the-”

“Wynonna,” Nicole starts, interrupting Waverly.

Wynonna holds up a hand. “I’m on it.” She grabs the phone out of the cradle and punches in a number. “You know,” she says. “If you had a cordless phone, I could conference call everyone at the same time and I wouldn’t need to dial each number separately and-”

“ _Wynonna_ ,” Nicole hisses.

Wynonna rolls her eyes and turns away from them, leaning against the wall as she twists the phone cord around her finger.

“Baby,” Nicole says softly. “You need to breathe.”

“But the seating chart and-”

Nicole presses her hands against Waverly’s cheeks, smiling softly. “It’s just a seating chart.”

Waverly’s eyes flash. “Just a-” she cuts herself off, exhaling out of her nose. Her teeth are clenched tightly. “Just a seating chart.”

Nicole smiles weakly. “What I meant was-”

Wynonna slams the phone down into the cradle. “All set. Chrissy is on her way.”

Nicole turns back to Waverly. “See? Chrissy is on her way.”

Waverly starts to shake her head. “No. Chrissy doesn’t understand my-”

“The color-coding? The alphabetizing?” Nicole tucks a loose strand of Waverly’s hair behind her ear. “She knows. Now, you go back in there and take a shower and I’ll clean up. Wynonna will take Styx outside,” she says, glancing back over her shoulder.

Wynonna salutes in her direction and slaps her palm against her hip twice. Styx sits up, ears piqued. Wynonna hits her hip again and Styx trots in her direction, circling the doormat eagerly. Nicole waits until Wynonna leashes him and they disappear around the door, their footsteps fading as they go down the stairs. She turns back to Waverly and smiles hopefully.

“Go take a shower?”

Waverly’s eyes dart around the apartment. “But-”

“Let me take care of it. You shower and I’ll have it picked up before you get out.”

Waverly sighs. “And then I can fix the list?”

Nicole shakes her head. “And then we’re getting out of this apartment. When’s the last time you left this place?”

Waverly’s cheeks flush.

Nicole sighs. “That’s what I thought.” She leans in and presses her lips to Waverly’s forehead for a long minute. She presses her hands down on Waverly’s shoulders and squeezes softly before turning her around and nudging her in the direction of the bedroom.

“You’re sure?” Waverly asks one more time.

Nicole nods. “I’m sure,” she promises. She reaches out at the last second and smacks Waverly’s ass, winking when Waverly jumps and looks back at her.

The bathroom door clicks shut and the water comes on. Nicole looks around the apartment again and sighs, starting at the pile by the door and working her way across the windows towards the bulletin boards there. It looks like someone went through her entire dresser, trying on clothes and then leaving them scattered around the room as they moved to the next shirt.

 _Wynonna_ , Nicole thinks. _She probably tried on every single one of my shirts._

Nicole holds up her Rush _Hold Your Fire_ tour shirt; one sleeve is inside out and the neck looks stretched. She tosses it onto the couch. Wynonna can keep that one because Nicole is never going to wear it again. She scowls as she picks up her Styx _Pieces of Eight_ shirt, eyes narrowed as she inspects it. It looks the same as it did when she put it in her drawer last week; she puts that shirt with the others on the coffee table. She’s throwing them all into the dirty laundry pile when Wynonna and Styx come back through the front door. Wynonna stops on the front mat and shakes leaves out of her hair.

Nicole sighs. “Do I want to know?”

“He’s a dirty wrestler,” Wynonna says. “He’s like Randy Savage. I challenged him to a stick finding competition, but he just took off with my stick. So I had to wrestle him for it.”

“You had to wrestle him for it,” Nicole says flatly.

Wynonna nods. “We settled it like warriors.”

“Make sure you sweep those up, warrior,” Nicole says, pointing at the leaves. “Because I’m not doing it. And while you’re at it, do you want to explain why my Rush shirt is stretched out?”

Wynonna squints, sucking in her bottom lip as she thinks. “Is that the black one with ‘Rush’ written across the front, like, five times.”

“Four,” Nicole corrects. “But yeah.”

Wynonna smiles widely. “No idea.”

Nicole’s mouth falls open. “You… you don’t know?”

Wynonna shrugs. “I’m pretty sure at one point, Waverly had so many Zimas that she started pulling all of your clothes out of the bedroom and putting them on. She told me…” Wynonna shudders. “She told me they smelled like you.”

Nicole feels her face flush. “Oh,” she murmurs.

“It was grody,” Wynonna admits.  

“Then how did Styx get ahold of the guest list?” Nicole asks, scratching the back of her neck. She picks the Rush shirt up off the couch and pulls the sleeve out the right way, carefully folding it.

Wynonna ducks her head a little. “I probably dropped bacon on it?”

Nicole sighs and runs a hand through her hair. Styx licks her hand at the mention of ‘bacon.’

“It’s not my fault,” Wynonna immediately insists. “Waverly went all ‘Last Day of Rydell High’ and threw papers _everywhere_.”

Nicole narrows her eyes. “How did bacon get on the paper, though?” She stares at Wynonna for a moment before sighing. “Oh, no.”

“So we went a little ‘Last Day of Rydell High’ with the bacon, too,” Wynonna says defensively. “We had _fun_. And Waverly needs to have fun. She’s wound up like a yo-yo and someone needs to walk the dog.”

Nicole frowns. “I’m not even-”

“She needed to laugh, Styx needed bacon, and I needed to work on my aim. I’m joining a darts league,” Wynonna explains. “So we all won.”

Nicole opens her mouth to argue - to tell Wynonna that she can’t just throw bacon around her apartment, no matter _who_ needs to laugh, and that she really needs to stop feeding Styx bacon, period - but the words die in her throat as Waverly comes out of the bedroom. She’s in a pair of high-waisted jeans that don’t quite meet the bottom of the tank top she has on. She pulled a flannel out of the closet and rolled the sleeves up around her elbows.

Nicole feels her stomach turn over and her throat goes dry.

Waverly ducks her head and smiles softly, her hair - long and wet and curling - hangs in her face. “I feel better,” she admits.

Nicole nods slowly.

Wynonna gags and socks her in the shoulder. “Do you practice those gooey eyes in the mirror, or is it just natural talent?”

“Shut up, Wynonna,” they both say at the same time.

Wynonna flips them both off and drops down onto the couch, kicking both of her feet up and resting them on the coffee table. She fumbles in the couch cushions for the remote control and grins when she finds it. She aims it at the television and presses the power button, flipping through channels too quickly for Nicole to even see what’s on a single station.

Wynonna looks up after a minute and frowns. “What are you two still doing here?”

Nicole jumps a little. “Oh, right. I need to get changed.”

“That’s a shame,” Wynonna says, eyes back on the television screen. “You have that whole _Turner & Hooch _ look is working for you.”

“ _Turner & Hoo _-”

“You’re Hooch, obviously,” Wynonna says without turning around.

Nicole takes a step forward, her back teeth clenched down against each other. Waverly’s hand wraps around her arm, fingers sinking into the fabric of her polyester uniform shirt.

“Baby,” she says quietly. “Just go get changed, okay?”

Nicole narrows her eyes in Wynonna’s direction and opens her mouth, but Waverly squeezes her arm again and Nicole sighs instead. She presses a kiss to Waverly’s forehead as she walks by her, flicks Wynonna in the side of the head, and starts peeling off her shirt before she even makes it to the bedroom. It’s covered in coffee and wrinkled after wrestling with Wynonna, so she throws it into the dirty clothes pile with the rest of her shirts and glares at her dresser.

There’s barely any shirts left in the drawer - her old Ratt shirt with the holes in it and a handful of white undershirts. She swaps a clean white one for the dirty one she has on, fumbling around in the closet for a pair of jeans. She tucks her shirt into the top of her jeans and finds a flannel behind Waverly’s skirts. She grabs her black baseball hat off the hook in on the back of the closet door, pulling it on her head backwards. She tucks a few loose strands of hair behind her ears, checks her look in the mirror, and nods.

“Wynonna,” she says as she walks back into the living room.

Wynonna waves a hand at her, eyes still on the television. “Don’t burn the place down, I know.”

Nicole scowls. “And-”

“Don’t drink all of the beer in the refrigerator.” Wynonna looks up from the television, smiling widely. “And don’t let the kids have soda after 7pm. No scary movies. No junk food. Anything else?”

Nicole purses her lips. “Don’t mess with my cassettes.”

“As if I would ever dream of it,” Wynonna mutters, rolling her eyes and turning back to the television. On screen, Elisabeth Shue is trying to drag a kid away from Vincent D’Onofrio who definitely looks nothing like Thor. “Now, go. I like this part.”

Waverly’s hand slips into Nicole’s. Nicole lets her shoulders slump, and she nods, grabbing her keys off the table by the door. “Let’s go, Styx.”

“Oh, come on,” Wynonna whines as Styx jumps off the couch. “We were going to cuddle since _someone_ hogged him all night.”

“He’s my dog,” Waverly points out.

“Only because you got him first,” Wynonna grumbles, crossing her arms over her chest.

Nicole snorts and opens the door, letting Styx down the back stairs ahead of her. He goes right for the car when they get outside, pawing at the driveway until Nicole pulls open the passenger door. He jumps into the seat, his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

She pulls open the driver’s door, and Waverly slides in, her hand trailing across Nicole’s belt as she moves past her. Nicole gets in after her, smiling when Styx licks the side of Waverly’s face. She turns the engine over, letting it hum gently before she eases the parking brake off.

Waverly pouts softly. “She doesn’t sound good.”

Nicole frowns. “She’s fine.”

“She hiccuped,” Waverly argues.

“Everyone gets the hiccups.”

“Not cars,” Waverly points out. “I mean, she’s almost twenty-”

Nicole sticks her fingers in her ears, singing the opening line of Hall & Oates’ “I Can’t Go For That.”

Waverly rolls her eyes and grabs Nicole’s wrist, pulling Nicole’s finger out of her ear. “Don’t be dramatic. She’s an old car. She’s a _good_ car, but she’s nearly twenty-years-old.”

Nicole shakes her head. “She can hear you.”

“She’s a car,” Waverly says. “She doesn’t have ears.”

Nicole rubs a hand against the dashboard gently. “Don’t worry,” she says softly. “She doesn’t mean it.”

Waverly huffs and crosses her arms over her chest. “I didn’t shower just to come outside and watch you sweet-talk your car.”

“Then tell her she’s going to continue to live a long life,” Nicole says.

Waverly blinks at her.

“I’m serious. Say it.”

Waverly shakes her head. “Cars only last 8 years, did you know that?” She shrugs a shoulder when Nicole frowns at her. “I was reading one of those magazines at the garage. So the fact that your car has lasted this long anyway is, like, a miracle.”

Nicole ignores Waverly and puts the car in reverse, slowly backing down the driveway. She has to wait until she comes to a complete stop before she shifts gears, wincing slightly as her Bonneville sputters. Doc had looked at it last week when she parked it outside of The Patch and declared her ‘an old lady’ on her way out the door.

Waverly leans over as they start down the street, cranking the window open so Styx can stick his head out of it. The wind whips through his fur and his tongue flaps in the breeze. She digs through the glove compartment until she finds something interesting, sliding the tape out of the case and pushing in into the deck. Waverly grins at Nicole and slides her hand over Nicole’s knee, pressing play.

“ _All my friends know the low rider. The low rider is a little higher. Low rider drives a little slower. Low rider is a real goer_ ,” Waverly sings along, matching Howard Scott’s voice.

Nicole groans. “Pick another song!” she demands over War playing and the wind coming in through the open windows. She turns left, onto Rt. 81 and points her car towards the town line. It’s only a few hours to Moose Lake and it’s not even 0800 yet; they can make a day of it. She’s got towels and a few extra shirts in the trunk of the car. They can pull the car down towards the water near the campsites and open all the doors and turn the music up.

“ _Low rider knows every street, yeah. Low rider is the one to meet, yeah. Low rider don't use no gas now. Low rider don't drive too fast._ ”

They hit the town line as Tom Cochrane comes on.

“ _Life's like a road that you travel on, when there's one day here and the next day gone. Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand. Sometimes you turn your back to the wind_.”

Nicole taps the steering wheel along to “Life is a Highway,” grinning as Waverly sings along. She has one hand threaded in Styx’s fur, the other curled around Nicole’s knee, and she’s smiling.

They’re not talking about the wedding. Waverly isn’t going crazy over the guest list or the menu. She presses into Nicole’s side and sings loudly, her head thrown back and her eyes closed. Nicole stretches one arm across the back of the bench seat, her fingertips brushing against Waverly’s shoulder.

Waverly turns to face her, still smiling, eyes closed.

Nicole presses harder on the gas pedal, rocketing them down the highway. She grins when she sees the road sign ahead: _Moose Lake 300km_

“ _Life is a highway. I want to ride it all night long. If you're going my way, I want to drive it all night long_ .”

-

Nicole clears her throat and stands up, her hand tight around her sweating glass of Orange Crush. She tugs at the collar of her button-up shirt. For the tenth time tonight, she regrets letting Waverly pick out her outfit. She knows she looks good, but it’s August and The Patch is hot and she’s sure there’s sweat stains under her arms.

Everyone is still talking, their voices drowning out the jukebox playing Johnny Lee’s “Looking For Love” softly. Nicole takes a minute to look around the tables they pushed together in the middle of the dining room. Waverly is sitting next to her, turned towards Chrissy and Rosita and talking about Madonna’s recent interview on Oprah Winfrey’s show. Wynonna is on her other side, trying to explain her new business strategy to Perry, across the table. Doc is next to Wynonna, bouncing Hayley on his knee while he builds towers with the jelly containers, clapping one hand against his leg every time Hayley knocks it over. Nathan and Mercedes are next to him, whispering with their heads ducked low. Her mom is sitting at the head of the table, Gus next to her, and Shorty next to Gus. They’re leaning back in their chairs, holding mugs of coffee closely to their chests and laughing loudly. Nedley is on Shorty’s other side, nodding slowly as Jeremy talks his ear off. Dolls has an arm draped across the back of Jeremy’s chair, squeezing his shoulder gently when Jeremy starts to get too excited, even though he’s talking across Perry, to Eliza and Valdez on his other side, while Leslie listens in on Waverly’s story.

Something in her chest sputters like the engine of her Bonneville.  

Gus had offered The Patch for their ‘night-before-the-wedding’ dinner that her mom insisted they have.

“It’s tradition,” she said at breakfast a few weeks ago.

Nicole groaned. “Aren’t we breaking tradition already?”

Her mom paused, a plate of potatoes and onions in her hand. “What do you mean?”

Waverly took a sip of her orange juice. “Well, there’s a lot of wedding traditions we’re not following. For one,” she explained, spearing a piece of egg on her fork. “Neither of us are being sold as part of a business deal.”

Nicole narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure? Maybe my mom is looking to break into the restaurant business.”

Waverly looked at Nicole, eyes narrowed. “You’re not funny.”

Nicole leaned forward, her chin in her hand. “Yes, I am.”

Her mom shrugged a shoulder and finally put the plate of potatoes and onions down in front of Nicole, forcing her back across the table. “Some of those traditions aren’t so bad, are they? What about not seeing each other before the wedding?”

“That’s because of the business deal,” Waverly said. “The father of the bride was worried that if the groom saw the bride, he’d find her ugly or something and, like, totally bail.”

Her mom frowned. “That’s not very romantic.”

“Wedding traditions aren’t very romantic,” Waverly said with a shrug. She leaned forward, her breakfast forgotten. “Did you know the best man was originally a _guard_?”

Nicole grinned and shoveled another forkful of potatoes and onions into her mouth. Waverly had that look in her eye, the one she got whenever she was about to go into lecture mode. Nicole grabbed her cup of coffee and leaned back as she chewed, holding her mug close to her chest. She watched Waverly’s hand as she described the Germanic Goths and their habit of _taking_ brides, instead of asking nicely. She watched the way her eyes sparkled as she talked about needing a best man to make sure that no one tried to rescue the bride. Her potatoes and onions were cold by the time Waverly was done.

Her mom sighed. “Well, you should still do a rehearsal dinner.”

Waverly tipped her head to the side and thought for a moment before shrugging. “Maybe Gus can let us borrow The Patch.”

Gus had offered before Nicole could even ask.

“Your mom called,” Gus explained. “Said you want to do a dinner.”

Nicole sighed and scratched the back of her neck. “I know it’ll close the dining room for the night, so I can cover the costs of it,” she offers, mentally calculating the cost of the night.

Gus narrowed her eyes. “Girl, don’t you act like I haven’t helped raise you. You offer me money again and I’m going to-”

“Gus!” Bobo shouted from the kitchen. “This fryer is acting up!”

“Must be all the Bee Gees music,” Gus grumbled. She pushed the swinging door open, the Gibb brothers suddenly loud and drowning out “Follow You Down” by Gin Blossoms on the jukebox.

“ _Talk about the life in Massachusetts, speak about the people I have seen. And the lights all went out in Massachusetts, and Massachusetts is one place I have seen_.”

“Goddamnit, Bobo, you clown,” Gus muttered as the door closed behind her.

Gus notices her standing first and rests her hand on Nicole’s mom’s arm, getting her attention. Slowly, the table quiets until they’re all staring at her expectantly. Nicole adjusts the grip on her glass and it nearly slides through her fingers.

“I’m, uh, not really sure to what to say,” she admits. “I’d rather have a song for this, but it wasn’t on the jukebox.”

Waverly had rolled onto her stomach, stretched out across the blanket Nicole pulled out of the back of her car. “You _don’t_ have a song for this?” she teased.

Nicole narrowed her eyes. “I-” Styx cut her off, jumping at the stick in her hand. Nicole rolled her eyes and tossed the stick towards the water’s edge. Styx took off after it, splashing in the water as he searched for it. “I don’t have my whole tape collection.”

Waverly propped her chin up on her hands, her elbows digging into the soft sand. The trail at Moose Lake had been full with the late summer crowd, but they grabbed the blankets, a few of the Orange Crush cans Nicole had packed, and the Hitachi she forgot was in there from the last time they drove out here, and headed down towards a quieter spot, away from the smooth sandy campsites. Nicole laid the blanket out on a patch of shore that didn’t seem too rocky, and Waverly laid down on her back, Wayfarers on and her hair spread out around her.

“What song would you play right now, if you had your own collection in the car?” Waverly asked. “Like, what song is _perfect_ for this moment?”

Nicole narrowed her eyes. “I know you’re teasing me.”

“A little,” Waverly admitted.

Styx brought the stick back, dropping it at Nicole’s feet. She grinned down at him; he dropped it _at_ her feet, but not _on_ her Red Wing 8877’s. She picked it up, tossing it from hand to hand as she thought about the answer.

“Journey,” she decided. “Definitely ‘Stone In Love’.”

Waverly frowned. “Really?”

Nicole grinned. She tossed the stick again, blindly throwing it over her shoulder, and moved back towards Waverly. “ _Those crazy nights, I do remember in my youth._ ”

Waverly laughed.

 _“I do recall, those were the best times,”_ Nicole continued. She kneeled down in the sand, looming over Waverly. Waverly kept laughing, trying to scramble back. “ _Most of all in the heat with a blue jean girl. Burnin' love comes once in a lifetime.”_

Waverly twisted around, on her back now, as she tried to slide away on her elbows. Nicole leaned in over her, trapping her in place.

“ _She found me singing by the railroad track. Took me home, we danced by moonlight._ ”

Nicole dipped her head down and found Waverly’s lips, kissing her until Styx barked and pushed his stick between them.

“If I did,” Nicole says, her voice hoarse as she looks at everyone seated around the table. “It would probably be written by Jackson Browne and Stan Lynch would be on drums and Billy Gibbons would be playing the guitar and Jimi Jamison would definitely be lead vocals.” She shrugs a shoulder self-consciously. “Because you guys just mean… _that_ to me.”

“Grody,” Wynonna mutters, smiling to take the sting out of her words.

Nicole flicks her in the ear with her free hand. “Don’t be a Gremlin.”

“That’s…” Wynonna pauses. “Surprisingly accurate. You may proceed.”

Nicole rolls her eyes. “Thank you, Your Honor.” She takes a deep breath and straightens her shoulders. “Tomorrow, I get to marry the girl I’ve been wanting to marry since the moment I laid eyes on her.”

Waverly’s hand presses against her leg, warm and steadying. Nicole looks down at her and smiles.

“But I’m saving _that_ speech for tomorrow,” she continues. “Tonight, I want to talk about you guys.”

“ _Finally_ ,” Wynonna declares, leaning back in her seat. She folds her arms over her chest. “I’ve been waiting for this for forever.”

Nicole groans.

“You’re going to tell everyone that we decided to run away together, right?” Wynonna asks, winking at her.

“Over my dead body,” Mercedes says, leaning forward to talk across Nathan and Doc.

“Guys,” Nicole sighs.

“I’ve known her longer,” Wynonna argues.

“I kissed her once,” Mercedes fires back.

Nicole feels her face flush.

Waverly sucks in her bottom lips, trying to hold in a laugh.

“ _Guys_ ,” Nicole hisses.

Valdez shakes her head. “This is like the bachelorette party, Round 2,” she mumbles to Eliza.

Nicole hears Eliza snort. “Waverly thought Nicole was a stripper at hers.”

“We _tried_ to get Nicole a stripper, but she refused,” Valdez grumbles.

“Absolutely not,” Nicole had said. She shook her head. “No. No.”

Wynonna groaned. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you about the plan in the first place.”

Nicole’s eyes widened. “So, what? You were just going to drag me to Pussy Willows without telling me?”

Wynonna wiggled her eyebrows. “Don’t try and tell me you’ve never been interested to see _how_ perky Perky Tits’s tits really are.”

Nicole’s mouth opened and closed again. “I… I don’t even know what to say to that.” She frowned. “Samantha Baker doesn’t work there.”

Wynonna shrugged. “I heard she picked up a few shifts.” She looked at Valdez.

Valdez scowled. “What’re you looking at me for? I have a _girlfriend_. I don’t need to pay to see…” She moved her hand over her body. “All of that.”

Wynonna sighed softly. “Leslie.”

Valdez’s frown softened, her eyes glazing over. “Yeah.”

Nicole stared at both of them for a moment before she shook her head. “No. I’m not going there.”

Wynonna looked at Mercedes and sighed heavily. “We knew that,” she admitted. “Which is why we decided to do this instead.” She reached into Valdez’s back pocket, ignoring the growl aimed at her, and pulled out an envelope. She handed it to Nicole.

“What is it?”

Wynonna rolled her eyes. “Just open it and find out for yourself, hoser.”

Nicole looked at Wynonna, then Mercedes. Valdez shrugged. “I’m pretty sure it’s safe to open, Five-O.”

“You’re going to be Five-O soon,” Nicole grumbled. She carefully lifted the flap of the envelope, peeling the sides apart. She frowned. “Is this… a ticket?” She looked up again.

“Open it!” Wynonna demanded, bouncing on the tips of her toes.

“Come on, Loverboy,” Mercedes said. “Just do it already.”

Nicole opened the envelope and pulled out the tickets inside. She turned them over, staring at the words without understanding them. “Are these…” She shook her head. “No. No.”

“Yes!” Wynonna shouted, jumping up and down. “Yes.”

“Calm _down_ , bitch,” Mercedes muttered. She grabbed the back of Wynonna’s leather jacket, pulling her to a stop. “Let Loverboy process. She looks like she’s having an aneurysm.”

“I need to sit down,” Nicole said softly. She didn’t sit down, though. She pulled four tickets out of the envelope and fanned them in her hand like she was holding a set of playing cards. “These are Aerosmith tickets,” she breathed out.

“I’m glad we vetoed that Lilith Fair thing,” Valdez muttered.

Mercedes glared. “Lilith Fair is an expression of the strength of women,” she argued.

“You only wanted to see Tracy Chapman,” Valdez fired back.

Mercedes shrugged. “She’s my number two. If I’m leaving Nathan, I mean,” she clarified. “Don’t worry, Loverboy. You’re still my number one.” She winked.

“This is the _Nine Lives_ tour! They’re playing ‘Pink’ and-and ‘Love In An Elevator’ and-”

“And ‘Janie’s Got A Gun’,” Wynonna added.

“I’m concerned about your interest in that song,” Valdez said slowly.

Nicole looked up from the tickets. “But, this is in Montreal. _Tomorrow_. We’re never going to get there.” Her mind starts spinning. “It’s a 38-hour drive and Wynonna has to stop, like, every two hours to get something to eat. Though, if we load up on Cheezies and some of that Surge soda she likes, we can cut down the number of stops by half, and we-”

“Loverboy,” Mercedes said loudly. “Breathe. You’re juiced if you think I’m spending thirty-eight hours in a car with Wynonna Earp.” She reached into her pocketbook and pulled out a second envelope. “We’re flying.”

Nicole opened the second envelope, staring down at the plane tickets in wonder.

“You get one bag, so pack your undershirts wisely.” Mercedes grinned crookedly at her. “And don’t worry. I called ahead. The hotel we’re staying at has their own irons.”

“Should I be worried that your argument-winning statement is ‘ _I kissed her_ ’?” Nathan asks, taking Hayley out of Doc’s arms and holding her to his chest. He hands her a french fry that she takes eagerly and starts to chew.

Mercedes smiles

“That wasn’t a _no_ ,” Nathan says. He looks at Nicole. “That wasn’t a no.”

“I’m going to ask you a question, and you can’t say no,” Nicole started, pacing the garage floor.

Nathan rolled out from under his 1996 Series 7 BMW, sitting up with a wince. “I can’t lug a body, but I can be the lookout.”

“I don’t need to-” Nicole paused and frowned. “Why would I ask you for help with that?”

Nathan tipped his head to one side while he thought. “You’re right. You would have asked Wynonna. Or my wife.”

Nicole closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose. “Nathan…”

Nathan slid his creeper forward, the front wheels of the flat, plastic board he used to go under the car creaking under his weight. “Okay, okay.” He reached a hand out. “Help me up, will you?”

Nicole grabbed him by the hand and pulled, watching him brace his weight on his good leg as he stood. He wiped his greasy hands on a rag sitting on his workbench and looked at her. “Okay. What do you need?”

“Forget it,” Nicole muttered.

 _This was a stupid idea_ , she thought. She didn’t need to do this part. They were already going to break so many traditions anyway. She didn’t need to be walked down the aisle by anyone.

“Hold on,” Nathan said.

Nicole shook her head. She started towards the door that connected the garage to the house. Over the small radio playing “MMMBop” by Hanson, Nicole could hear Mercedes clapping and singing along to something on the television.

“It’s no big,” she said.

“Woah,” Nathan breathed out, stepping in front of her. He put his hands up. “What’s the dillio?”

Nicole raised an eyebrow.

Nathan shrugged. “One of the kids on my team keeps asking me that question. I think it means ‘what’s up?’ or something.” He ducked his head, trying to catch Nicole’s eyes. “So, what’s up?”

Nicole shook her head, kicking at the floor. “It’s really no big-”

“It’s something,” Nathan said. “You look exactly the same as you did the day you asked to borrow my boombox, so you could make that mixtape for Waverly.”

Nicole looked up and narrowed her eyes. “Like how?”

“Like you’re afraid the ground is going to open and swallow you whole,” Nathan said easily. “And at the same time, looking like you hope it does.”

Nicole reached out and picked up a tire iron, turning it over in her hands. She put it back down on the workbench and took a few steps towards the radio, turning it down. “You’re going to be a really good dad,” she said.

Nathan paused in the middle of throwing a wrench into the air. It clattered against the concrete floor of the garage and Nathan smiled sheepishly at her. “Thanks.”

“Our dad is shitty,” Nicole said suddenly.

Something dark passed over Nathan’s face. “Yes. He is.”

Nicole started pacing again, moving back and forth across the floor - one, two, three, four, turn sharply, and back again. “Did you know that fathers give their daughters away because it used to be a part of a business deal?”

Nathan blinked a few times. “What?”

“Waverly told me that. She said that brides used to be sold off to the grooms, and that they were literally _handed off_ to the groom at the end of the aisle. It was supposed to symbolize the end of the arrangement, you know?” Nicole didn’t wait for him to answer. “The patriarchy sucks.”

“Mercedes says that, too,” Nathan offered. “Like, when I don’t take the trash out or when she wants the last piece of bread.”

“I don’t _need_ dad giving me away, anyway,” Nicole continued, her feet hitting concrete angrily. “I mean, he already gave me away once, so why should I care about being given away?” She paused, eyes wide. “Who am I even going to be given away _to_?”

Nathan stepped forward into her pacing path, his hands hovering over her arms without touching her. “You want to explain to the class what you’re going on about?”

“I want you to walk me down the aisle,” Nicole breathed out. “I… You’re my big brother, Nathan. And I need you up there with me. I’m sorry you’re not in the wedding party-”

“I’m not,” Nathan said quickly. “These legs don’t look that great in a dress.”

“But you’re important,” Nicole continued over him. “I need you there. I needed you to give me your boombox and now I need you to give me away, okay?” She ran a hand through her hair. “You’re just… You’re my big brother,” she repeated. She started pacing again. “This is supposed to be the best day of my life, and I need the people who matter. You’re… It _has_ to be you, Nathan.”

“So,” Nathan said slowly. “I’m your only hope?”

Nicole stared at him for a moment. “Are you… Are you making a _Star Wars_ joke? Right now?”

Nathan’s smile faded instantly. “Of course not.” He shook his head. “That would be… It would be the wrong time to make a _Star Wars_ joke.”

Nicole rolled her eyes. “Nathan…”

“Of course I can walk you down the aisle,” he said, cutting her off. “I… I didn’t think you’d want that, to be honest. _But_ ,” he said quickly. “But I would be honored to.” He cleared his throat. “I, uh… That would be really dope.”

Nicole narrowed her eyes. “Seriously?”

Nathan held up his hand, three fingers in the air and his pinky and thumb curled into a fist. “Scout’s honor,”  he promised.

Nicole swallowed heavily, fighting the burn in the corner of her eyes. “Scout’s honor,” she repeated.

“I’m not leaving you,” Mercedes says, finally taking pity on Nathan. “At this point, I’m better off waiting until Hayley is eighteen.” She winks again at Nicole. “Right, Loverboy?”

Nicole rolls her eyes. “I’m not stealing your wife, Nathan. I’ve already got one of my own.”

Waverly pinches her hip gently.

“Well, I’ll have one tomorrow, I mean.”

Nathan pretends to glare at her, his concentration broken by Hayley as she pokes him in the cheek with a half-chewed french fry. “Scout’s honor?” he asks.

Nicole nods sharply. “Scout’s honor.”

Nedley leans forward across the table, breaking away from Jeremy’s conversation. Jeremy sits back, his shoulders slumping as he frowns.

“You were a scout, Haught?”

Wynonna snorts. Waverly presses her hand to her mouth. Even Nathan snickers softly. Mercedes grabs his earlobe and pinches hard until he yelps and gives Nicole a sheepish smile.

“Uh, no, sir,” Nicole says, her voice strained.

Nedley sits back in his seat. “Oh.”

Perry lifts his fist in victory and lets out a small cheer, his cheeks flushing when he realizes people are staring at him. “Sorry,” he mumbles. “It’s just… I was.”

Nedley’s mouth twitches. “Really?”

“Yes, sir.”

Nedley stares at Perry for a minute longer and then nods slightly.

Perry grins widely.

“It’s just something we say, sir,” she explains to Nedley in a stilted voice. She feels Waverly’s hand slide into her own.

Nedley narrows his eyes. “I was a Scout.” He looks her up and down. “Trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent,” he says, listing the Twelve Points of the Scout Law. Nicole remembers them from the week Nathan was a Scout. He recited them over and over again in the mirror, adjusting his tie. “You have the makings of one.”

Nicole feels something in her chest shift and she swallows. “Well, thank you. Sir,” she adds.

“Haught!” Nedley shouted from his office.

Linda rolled her eyes. “Does he know he can stand up and walk over to you like a normal human being?” She leaned back from the counter, turning towards his office. “Or use one of those new phones we got ‘specially for this!”

Nedley stepped out of his office, his face red. “I told you, Linda. I can’t work the damn thing.”

Linda stared at him. “How hard can it be, Sheriff?” She shook her head. “You pick up the receiver, you punch in Haught’s line.”

“It’s 12,” Nicole offered, looking down at the phone on her desk to make sure.

“And then you say, ‘Haught, come in here’,” Linda finished. “The whole point of us getting these phones was so that it would stop sounding like a damn bar brawl in here.”

Nedley opened his mouth, but closed it quickly, exhaling loudly through his nose. “Haught,” he said, his teeth clenched. “Come in here. _Please_ ,” he added when Linda glared at him.

Nicole ducked her head and dipped inside his office, taking a seat in the chair in front of his desk without being asked. Nedley sat down with a huff, glaring at the Nortel M9316 phone on his desk.

“I can’t work the damn thing,” he repeated.

Nicole looked between him and the phone. “Oh. I mean, I can teach you?”

Nedley sighed and nodded, quick and sharp. “Fine. If it’ll stop Linda from yelling at me.”

“It probably won’t,” Nicole admitted.

“Didn’t think it would,” Nedley muttered. He picked up a manilla folder on his desk and turned it around, holding it out to her. “Take a look at this.”

Nicole took the folder carefully, staring at the graph on the page. She frowned, tilting her head to the side as she read the axes - _years_ and _number of days off_. “Sir, I don’t understand what this is?”

Nedley leaned over his desk, eyes narrowed as he tried to read upside down. “Dammit, Lonnie. I told him to make sure he put a chart heading on there.” He looked sharply at Nicole. “I did the damn thing exactly how you showed me. But Lonnie-”

“It’s okay,” she assured him. “I just don’t understand what I’m supposed to be looking at.”

“It’s your days off over the the time you’ve been employed here.” Nedley nodded at the graph. “You get 18 days off a year, with rollover. How many years have you been here?”

“Almost eight years,” Nicole said, distracted.

“Do you know how many days that is?” Nedley asked. “How many days off you’ve accumulated in almost eight years?”

Nicole shook her head.

Nedley glanced down at a post-it note on his desk. “I added it up. 126 days. You’ve used twenty of them.” He nodded at the graph Nicole was holding. “That means you have a 106 days left.” He sat back in his chair and shook his head, steepling his fingers on the desk in front of him. How in _the hell_ have you only taken twenty days off, Haught?”

Nicole shrugged a shoulder. “I mean, I got the flu back in ‘94 and I took a few days off, didn’t I?”

Nedley glared at her. “Only because Waverly and I both agreed you were going to fall over if you tried to work another day.”

Nicole shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “I’m sorry, sir, but I’m in the middle of looking through the CPIC. They just released the statistics on violent crime between ‘95 and ‘96, and I’m hoping to see if there’s something in the data that shows-”

“Haught,” Nedley says sharply. “You need to take some days off.”

“I’m taking the 11th off,” she said slowly.

“You’re taking a honeymoon,” Nedley said firmly. “The high school doesn’t start up for another few weeks. Gus and I already talked, and we’ll split days watching Styx. But you’re taking a honeymoon.” He ducked his head. “Mostly because it looks bad, you having over a hundred days off. I’m going to have to start putting a cap on how many days you can have in your sick bank. But mostly…” He looked up, meeting her eyes. “Mostly because you deserve it, kid.”

“Sir,” Nicole tried, her words sticking in her throat.

“Consider it a wedding present, Haught,” Nedley interrupted. “August 11 to August 24. You can come back in on August 25.”

Nicole shook her head. “Sir, that’s two weeks.”

“I can read a calendar,” Nedley said, giving her a quick smile. “I don’t want you in this office. You’re going to be a newlywed. Enjoy it.” His eyes strayed across the room, to the framed picture of his wife. “You won’t regret it later on.”

Nicole straightened up. She nodded. She thought about Nedley and how he missed his wife’s prom; how there seemed to be a hundred things he wanted to say every time he looked at that picture. She thought about Gus and all of the things Curtis missed - Wynonna’s graduation and Waverly’s prom night and celebrating Nicole's first day on the job. She nodded again and closed the folder.

“That’s all,” Nedley said quietly.

Nicole stood up, handing him back the folder.

Nedley took it slowly. “I worked hard on that graph.”

Nicole fought a smile. “It looks great.” She was almost to the door when he called her name again.

“He would have been real proud,” Nedley said. “Real proud of you, and real proud of Waverly. Of the life you two have built, and all the good you’re doing.”

“He’d be proud of you for trying to learn those phones,” Nicole offered.

Nedley snorted. “He’d think those things were a waste of time. He’d rather just get up and talk to you.”

Nicole laughed softly. “Yeah, he would.” She looked through the window, at the computer on her desk going dark. “I’m going to go back-”

“Right,” Nedley said, straightening up. “Back to work, then. I expect some type of write up on those statistics the CPIC put out. Pay attention to non-violent crime, too. Those property-related calls are interesting.” He smirked at the look of confusion on her face. “I read the reports, too.”

“Right, sir,” Nicole said, clumsily backing up across the floor. “I’ll, uh, get right on that.”

“Preferably before August 11,” he called after her.

“I wanted to be a Scout,” Jeremy says wistfully. “They had the coolest neckerchiefs.”

“You have a nice collection of bow ties,” Dolls says gently. He squeezes Jeremy’s shoulder softly. “And ascots.”

“And ascots,” Jeremy repeats.

“I think I found the perfect ascot,” Jeremy told her.

Nicole’s eyes widened. “Okay,” she said slowly.

Dolls laughed from somewhere inside the apartment. “Jeremy, will you at least let her in?”

Jeremy shook his head. “Of course. Right. Come on in.” He paused. “Are you Nicole, or Officer Haught?”

Nicole frowned. “I’m both of those people.”

Jeremy twisted his fingers together anxiously. “I just mean… are you here as our friend, Nicole? Or as Officer Haught, almost-Sheriff.”

“I’m not ‘almost-Sheriff’,” she pointed out. “But I’m here as Nicole, I guess.”

Jeremy kicked the door open wider. “Great! Come on in.”

“What’re you doing in here?” she asked, looking around the apartment. The dining room table was covered in plastic, microscopes on all sides. There were Petri dishes and warning labels and notebooks littered across the surface. For a second, she felt like she was back in freshman biology.

“I’m developing a topical cream for fighting off MRSA. But it’s kind of top-secret, and I can’t risk it getting out there.” Jeremy looked around the apartment nervously.

Nicole put her hands up in surrender. “Relax. I don’t even know what MRSA is.” She narrowed her eyes. “Why would it matter if I was Officer Haught?”

Dolls sighed heavily as he walked into the living room, drying his hands on a dishtowel. “He thinks he obtained the phosphate through disreputable sources.” He lowered his voice. “Really, I got it through a guy at the country club who works at one of those fancy pharmaceutical places, but…” His eyes went soft as he looked at Jeremy affectionately. “I don’t have the heart to tell him.”

Nicole clapped her hand down on Dolls’s shoulder. “Love, right?”

Dolls ducked his head. “Hey, I’m making lunch. You want something?”

“No, thanks. I actually have a question for you guys.”

Jeremy put down his safety glasses, pushing up the sleeves of his lab coat. “Shoot.” His face flushed. “I mean, don’t actually shoot. I just mean-”

“We know, Jeremy,” Nicole and Dolls say at the same time.

Jeremy smiled sheepishly. “Right. Right.”

Nicole pushed her hand into her pocket and looked around Dolls’s apartment. She wasn’t sure she’d ever been inside, but it looked exactly like she thought it would: framed pictures of Mike Tyson and a few movie posters. There’s a motown record on the wall, too - Stevie Wonder’s _Looking Back_ . Jeremy was mixed in, too. There were _Science_ magazines on the coffee table, a chimpanzee looking up at Nicole, and notebooks on nearly every surface with his indecipherable handwriting on them.

“I have a favor to ask,” she started.

“Do you need me to be in charge of the music?” Jeremy asked eagerly.

Nicole smiled. “No, we’re going to use the DJ Perry and Chrissy had at their wedding.”

Jeremy’s shoulders slumped.

“But thanks for offering,” Nicole added quickly. She picked up the _Science_ magazine and thumbed through it. “I actually wanted to ask if you two would be the ushers, at the wedding.”

Jeremy’s face brightened. “Really?”

Nicole nodded. “It’s at the Grange, so we want to make sure people end up in the dance hall and not the conference room.”

Jeremy clapped his hands together excitedly. “I love the Grange. It’s the only place to hold a real science fair in town. When the schools from Edmonton and Medicine Hat came for the provincial competition in high school, they wanted us to the hold the fair in the cafeteria, which is-”

Dolls clears his throat loudly.

Jeremy flushes. “Of course we can be ushers! Can’t we?” he asked, looking at Dolls.

Dolls met Nicole’s eyes and nodded sharply. “Of course we can,” he repeated.

She gave him a small smile. “Thanks, guys.”

“It’s the most important day of your life,” Dolls said. “We’ll do whatever it takes to keep it easy.”

“I think ascots are too hard,” Perry says. “Bowties are easier. Or polo shirts.” He picks at the shoulder of the muted brown polo he’s wearing. “No tie required.”

Wynonna leans across the table. “Has anyone ever told you that shirt looks the same color as-”

“Okay!” Gus says loudly, clapping her hands. “I think the girl was going to speak?”

Everyone turns and looks at Nicole, their hands wrapped loosely around their coffee mugs and their glasses of juice.

She pauses and looks at them all, studying their faces and trying to catalog this moment in her mind for the rest of her life. She tries to remember Wynonna’s smile and Doc’s hand resting at the back of her shoulder; Nathan grinning at Hayley and Mercedes leaning in to kiss Hayley’s forehead; Gus and her mom and their shoulders pressed together as they both look at her; Shorty smiling, his camera primed; Nedley’s chest puffed out and a smile underneath his moustache; Dolls and Jeremy holding hands on the tabletop; Eliza, Leslie, and Valdez pausing their ‘jelly-stacking contest’ to look at her expectantly; Rosita and Chrissy and Perry smiling.

She looks at Waverly, and something warm blossoms in the pit of her stomach, pushing out to the tips of her toes.

Nicole shakes her head. “You know what? I’m just… I’m really, _really_ grateful for all of you,” she finally says. “Tomorrow is going to be the best day of my life.” She looks down at Waverly, squeezing her hand gently. “And you guys being there… It’s just going to make it that much better.” Her eyes drift towards the empty space between Nedley and Shorty, where another chair could fit if they worked it in; where Curtis would be sitting if he was here.

She lifts the glass in her other hand. “To family,” she says.

“ _To family_.”

 

-

“This is the worst day of my life,” Nicole groans, standing in the living room in sweatpants and a sports bra.

Wynonna steps out of the kitchen, the phone still pressed to her ear. The cord stretches and pulls Wynonna back a step. “Get a freaking cordless phone,” she growls.

Nicole grinds her back teeth together, following Wynonna into the kitchen. “Today is _not_ the day for this, Wynonna.”

Wynonna opens her mouth, but someone on the other end of the line says something and she turns her attention to the phone. “Okay. Yes. No, like, ten years ago.” Wynonna stomps her foot. “I don’t care if there’s a _Peanuts_ special on. I don’t care if the Prime freaking Minister is in your living room in his underwear eating a bowl of Count Chocula with orange juice. _Get. Over. Here_ ,” she hisses. She slams the receiver into the cradle and nods sharply, her arms over her chest. She looks up at Nicole and smiles widely. “Jeremy is on his way over.”

Nicole sighs and drops her 1978 Panasonic Heavy Weight Dry Iron NI-22AWT onto the kitchen table with a thud. “We’re _doomed_.”

Wynonna immediately shakes her head. “Oh, no, no, no. We’re fine.”

“My iron died. _On my wedding day_ ,” Nicole hisses. “Forget rain on your wedding day. This is worse!”

“Listen,” Wynonna tries. “It’s, like, an ancient iron. It was bound to die eventually.”

Nicole’s eyes flash. “On my wedding day?”

Wynonna winces. “Jeremy’s coming over. Did I mention that? He’s bringing his iron.”

Nicole groans. “No, he’s supposed to be at the Grange, setting up.”

Wynonna shakes her head. “Perry, Doc, and Nathan are already there. They’re helping Gus and your mom.” She marches across the apartment and into the kitchen, pulling open the refrigerator. She kicks it shut behind her when she’s done and pushes a cold can of Orange Crush into Nicole’s hand. “Here, drink this.”

“What? We’re all out of beer?” Nicole asks, pulling the tab on the soda. She drains half of the can in her first sip.

“Grumpy Nicole doesn’t get a beer. It’ll only make her grumpier,” Wynonna sings to the tune of The Outfield’s “Your Love.”

Nicole scowls. “I’m not grumpy.”

Wynonna nods at the can in Nicole’s hand. “You’re going to crush that, you know.”

Nicole looks down and loosens her grip on the soda can. “It’s my lucky iron,” she says, her cheeks flushing red.

“Your lucky iron,” Wynonna repeats.

Nicole puts down the can of Orange Crush and wipes her hand on the leg of her sweatpants, picking up a cassette tape instead. She turns it over in her hands, running the tips of her fingers across the lettering: Van Halen, _Balance_.

“That was my first iron,” she explains. “It was the one I used the first time I ever ironed my undershirt. I used this one before Stephanie Jones’s party, and before my first date. I used it the day I went and stood on the lawn and begged Waverly to give me a second chance.” She starts to pace - one, two, three, four, turn sharply, and back again. “I took that iron to the academy with me.”

“So you want your own iron, then,” Wynonna says, her forehead knitted in confusion.

Nicole smiles, exhaling in relief. “Yes. Exactly.”

Wynonna straightens up. “Then I’ll go get you one!” She claps her hands together and checks the wall clock. “There’s still totally enough time for me to get down to the drugstore. I think they have irons in the home section,” she murmurs to herself.

Nicole groans. “No. I don’t want _another_ iron. I want _my_ iron.”

It was the iron that she watched her dad teach Nathan how to use. She had stolen it from the bathroom after that lesson, the one she watched from the doorway, but wasn’t a part of, and she hid it in her room. She turned it on and tested the hot plate and felt like maybe, if she got the lines and creases right, her dad might notice; like maybe, if she looked sharp enough, Waverly would look at her.

“ _Right_ ,” Wynonna says slowly, dragging the word out like she thinks Nicole is losing her mind.

Nicole knows that voice; it’s the same one she uses when Waverly is trying to convince her that the Spice Girls are the most underrated girl power group in the history of music; the one she uses when Lonnie tries to file a missing persons report for Buttercup, Mr. Bordeau’s cow who had wandered out of the corral and into the back fields by the salt flats.

“Wynonna,” she says, her voice low.

Wynonna raises an eyebrow skeptically. “It’s an iron,” she says slowly.

Nicole feels her chest tighten. “It’s not just _any_ iron, it’s-”

The tape in her hand snaps. Wynonna gasps. Nicole looks down at the broken plastic in horror, the quiet rumbling in the pit of her stomach a full roar now.

Wynonna steps forward slowly and puts her hands over Nicole’s. They’re heavy and warm, and Nicole feels anchored, just for a moment, before Wynonna takes the pieces of the tape, the ribbon hanging, tangled, between them, and puts it down on the coffee table.

“If you didn’t like Van Halen, you just had to say so,” Wynonna finally says, forcing a laugh.

Nicole sighs, her shoulders slumping. “But I _do_ like Van Halen,” she whines softly. “Waverly sounds like ‘Love Walks In’.”

Wynonna rolls her eyes. “You kids and your music,” she says, imitating something that sounds like Mrs. Dray’s voice. She clears her throat. “Listen, you can either tell me what’s going on with you, or I’ll roll all of your white undershirts up and wrinkle the hell out of them.”

Nicole narrows her eyes. “You wouldn’t.”

Wynonna walks slowly towards the ironing board set up across the living room. All of Waverly’s boards are gone, taken to the Grange to use as roadmaps for the setup of the wedding. They’re having the ceremony in the dance hall and the reception in the conference room. Waverly had sweet-talked Ms. Merchant, the maintainer of the building, to let them take down the heavy, stuffy curtains in the conference room and decorate the walls with blues and pinks instead of dusty, dirt road red.

“Wynonna,” Nicole warns.

Wynonna slowly reaches for the pair of pants that Nicole managed to get done before the ironed sparked and fizzled out.

“Wynonna.”

Wynonna shakes her head and runs a single finger parallel to the crease Nicole painstakingly pressed into the dress pants. “It would be a shame if that iron dying was all for nothing.”

Nicole grits her back teeth and makes a growling noise that sounds like it would have come from Styx, if he was here and not with Nedley at the station until the wedding.

“Just talk to me,” Wynonna says, dropping her hand from the pants. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

Nicole sighs and shrugs a shoulder, looking away.

 _I’m afraid Waverly is going to change her mind_ , is what she’s thinking.

“I just want this day to go _right_ ,” is what she says.

Wynonna rolls her eyes. “Did you see the boards Waverly had in here?” She sweeps her arm across the apartment. “She planned your wedding better than half the people in my graduating class could plan a business. Not me, of course.”

“Of course,” Nicole grumbles.

“What I’m saying,” Wynonna says loudly. “Is that Waverly has plans for her plans. She has outlines for her outlines. Did she overlook that, in a freak incident, your only iron would die at exactly the moment you went to iron your underwear?”

“Undershirt,” Nicole corrects.

“I’m actually surprised that she didn’t have a second one,” Wynonna says. “Or, like, she didn’t get that for you as a wedding present.”

Nicole softens a little, looking at the jewelry box on the coffee table. She runs her fingers over the soft velvet top and opens it, watching the way the light catches the restored pocket watch. She hadn’t even known that her mom had it. Waverly told her that she wanted to get something nice, but she wasn’t sure what, and her mom had gone to her room and come back with her father’s pocket watch. It needed cleaning and a few other things Gwen Sanvers had mentioned - an escapement bridge and wheel and a few case screws - but now it looked good as new, sparkling silver against the velvet blue box.

“This is just as good,” she murmured.

“Still,” Wynonna says after a minute. “If Waverly’s only mistake was not buying you a new iron ten years ago, instead of letting you use this ancient artifact, then I’d say you’re still fine.”

Nicole narrows her eyes and looks up at Wynonna.

Wynonna winks at her.

“Fine,” Nicole says after a minute. “I’ll let it go and just… wait until Jeremy gets here, I guess.” She picks up the latest _Rolling Stone_ , the one with Puff Daddy on the cover and starts thumbing through it anxiously. Waverly already read her the article about Dave Grohl from The Foo Fighters, but she doesn’t mind reading it again if it’s going to make time go by faster.

“You broke a cassette tape,” Wynonna whispers in awe, looking down at the pieces on coffee table.

Nicole groans and drops her head into her hands. “I can’t believe I did that.”

“I’m telling everyone, just so you know.”

“Of course you are.”

“I guess you really always were He-Man.” Wynonna shrugs. “Whatever. I never liked him anyway.”

Nicole rolled her eyes. “Tell that to the poster you had in your locker in fourth grade.”

“I also liked Mel Gibson in the fourth grade, so…” Wynonna shrugs. She checks the time again. “Now, if you don’t put on a shirt before Jeremy gets here, you’re going to have a dead iron and a dead dweeb and _that’s_ definitely going to ruin the wedding.”

Nicole groans again.

 

-

Nicole looks anxiously at the front door of the Grange. “What if it was important?” she asks for the tenth time, picking at the skin of her thumb.

“For the tenth goddamn time,” Wynonna says through gritted teeth. “If we stayed to answer that phone call, we’d be late for your wedding. You know? The one where _you’re_ saying ‘I do’?”

Nicole pulls at her suit jacket, feeling the fabric stretch over her shoulders. The sun is shining and there’s a light breeze that keeps pushing her hair out of place. She has it tucked back behind her ears for now, but she lets it go the third time the wind blows, and just gives up.

“I still don’t understand why this had to be on a Monday,” Mercedes’s dad mumbles as he walks past them.

“Shut up, Howard,” Mrs. Gardner says sharply. “You know what Mercedes said. It’s when most of the wedding party was free.”

Mr. Gardner says something else Nicole doesn’t hear, disappearing into the doors of the Grange. Nicole barely catches sight of Dolls in his suit, gently taking Mrs. Gardner by the arm. She knows that somewhere in that building, Waverly is waiting in a white dress Nicole hasn’t seen yet. She’s probably listening to some Madonna on the Hitachi she took from Nicole’s car, doing her makeup, checking her nail polish. She’s probably laughing with her bridesmaids and doing final touches on her hair.

Nicole feels like the world is sliding out from under her.

“Oh, Nicole,” Linda says from behind her.

Nicole turns, her cheeks red. “Hey.” She looks at Cub. “You made it.”

Cub nervously slicks down his hair. “I told Gram we didn’t have to match, but she insisted.”

Nicole steps back and takes in the neon pink tie Cub is wearing, that matches Linda’s nail polish and the earrings she’s wearing.

“You guys look…” She bites down on her bottom lip. “You look good.”

Cub groans. “I told you we looked-”

Linda shushes him and reaches out, her hands soft as they touch the bowtie at Nicole’s throat. “You look sharp, Haught. Real sharp.”

Nicole grins crookedly. “My tailor is one of the best in Purgatory.”

Linda rolls her eyes. “Now you’re just buttering me up.” She runs her hands down Nicole’s arm, checking the length of the jacket sleeve. She _tuts_ happily, stepping back to admire the work she did on Nicole’s suit. “But I’ll take it.”

Nicole shakes her head, still smiling. “You better get in there.”

Linda holds her gaze for a moment before nodding sharply and offering her arm to Cub. “Let’s go, boy. I want a good seat.”

“You do,” Wynonna says suddenly.

Nicole looks at her, confused.

“Look good,” Wynonna clarifies. “In the suit. I know people expected you to wear a dress, you know. Because it’s your wedding day, but…”

Nicole smooths a hand down the front of her suit. “This is how I feel comfortable.”

Wynonna’s mouth turns up in a soft smile. “I can tell. It looks good on you.”

Nicole’s mom pops her head out of the front doors of the Grange, scanning the sidewalk until she sees Nicole. “Honey!” she calls. “We’re nearly ready.”

Wynonna grins, an entirely different smile, and claps her hard on the shoulder. “Ready?”

 _No_ , Nicole thinks.

Her feet move anyway, carrying her down the sidewalk to the steps.

The door flies open, and Nathan shuffles down the steps, holding Hayley in his arms. “Hold on,” he says, stepping in front of her. He reaches out, putting Hayley in Wynonna’s arms.

Wynonna bounces Hayley around, making a noise that sounds like a motorcycle engine. Hayley giggles happily, her hands on Wynonna’s face.

“Here,” Nathan says, pushing a flask into her hands. “For luck.”

“For luck?” Nicole holds the flask under her nose, smelling whisky. She holds back her shudder and tips the flask, swallowing a sip.

“Well, I think this part is just insanity, right?” Nathan winks. “I’m kidding. You don’t need luck, and this isn’t insane. This is… Inevitable.”

“Inevitable,” Nicole repeats dumbly.

Nathan nods, taking the flask back. He takes a swallow of his own. “It always has been, hasn’t it? Since the day you met Waverly.”

The door opens, and Mercedes rolls her eyes when she sees Nathan’s flask. “Are you bitches getting drunk without me?”

“Itches!” Hayley shouts happily.

Nicole winces, but Mercedes shrugs a shoulder. “Better than her saying something like, ‘my sister is an evil witch who wasn’t even invited to this wedding, but she’s all my dad will talk about’ right?”

Nicole, Nathan, and Wynonna look at each other silently.

“That’s what I thought,” Mercedes says, plucking the flask out of Nathan’s hand. She tips it back and takes a long sip. “Damn, that’s good.”

Wynonna opens her mouth and Mercedes pours some in, careful not to spill it on her dress.

“We almost ready?” Nathan asks, checking his watch.

Mercedes nods. “Waverly is in that big closet we hooked up in at the last town meeting,” she says.

Nathan’s cheeks go red. “ _Mercedes_ ,” he hisses.

Mercedes shrugs. “What? At least it wasn’t our first kiss. Unlike someone else here who had their first kiss in the closet.”

Nicole narrows her eyes. “How do you even know that?”

“I have my ways.” Mercedes reaches for Hayley. “Let me go give her to your mom, and we can get this party started.” Hayley babbles happily as she settles in Mercedes’s arms, giving Nicole a tooth-filled smile.

Nathan holds the door open for them. They follow Mercedes into the small entryway and step off to the left, out of the way of the dance hall area. From here, Nicole can see the room - the white chairs in perfectly even rows, with blue and pink tulle tied around the backs; the white runner going up the middle to the end of the aisle; the small risers for the bridesmaids to stand on; the DJ set up in the corner behind the guests, ready to play the music when they give the signal that Waverly is ready to walk.

It’s like Waverly’s bulletin board come to life.

“Waverly is ready,” Mercedes announces. “She’s going to wait until her bridesmaids walk down the aisle, and then Gus is going to let her know it’s time to go.

“Is she…” Nicole hesitates, picking at her fingers. “Can I talk to her?”

Wynonna narrows her eyes at Nicole, but pushes the door open slightly and speaks to someone on the other side. She slams it shut and pushes against it, checking to make sure it won’t accidentally open. She nods. “Go ahead.”

Nicole presses tight against the door, her hands slick with sweat. “Waves?”

“Nicole?”

Nicole sighs, relieved. “Hey, baby.”

“I tried calling,” Waverly says. “I called, like, three times.”

Nicole grits her teeth, her hand curling into a fist. “I _told_ Wynonna she needed to let me back into the apartment so I could get the phone. I _told_ her it was important. But _no_ , she told me-”

“How’re you?” Waverly interrupts.

Nicole presses her forehead into the door. “Nervous,” she admits, just loud enough that she’s sure Waverly can hear her.

“Nicole,” Waverly says.

Nicole shakes her head, her voice gone.

“Nicole,” Waverly says again. Her voice is muffled and distant, but Nicole presses herself against the wood and tries to hear her, even though her throat is closing. “Baby, just knock on the door if you can hear me.”

Nicole knocks three times.

Waverly laughs. “Okay, good.” There’s a pause and it settles into the empty places in Nicole’s chest. “Baby?”

 _She’s going to tell me she doesn’t want to get married_ , Nicole thinks.

“What?” she manages to ask, her throat closing.

Waverly pauses again. “I can’t wait to get married to you,” she says after a minute.

“My iron broke,” Nicole interrupts. “My iron stopped working on our wedding day, and I thought that… I thought-”

“That it was a sign?”

Nicole nods before she remembers that Waverly can’t see her. “Yeah,” she says.

“You know that our life isn’t an Ace of Base song,” Waverly says, her voice floating through the door like she thinks this is funny.

“Waverly,” Nicole says. “This isn’t-”

“We have a love that’s everlasting,” Waverly continues over her. “And the feeling is strong enough.”

“Are you… Are you quoting Survivor at me?”

“Tell me,” Waverly says. “Do you think we’re merely passing?”

“Oh, my god,” Nicole breathes out. “You’re quoting Survivor at me.”

“No,” Waverly answer. “This is an everlasting love.”

“That was…”

“I want to marry you,” Waverly says loudly, her voice firm.

“You want to marry me,” Nicole repeats, shaking her head.

“If I didn’t think Chrissy and Rosita and your mom would kill me, I’d pull this door open and tell you exactly how much I want to marry you,” Waverly admits.

Nicole presses her forehead against the wood and sighs. “I missed you last night.”

She hears a soft _thud_ as Waverly leans against the other side of the door. “I missed you, too,” she thinks Waverly says.

“I don’t like waking up alone,” she admits. “I know sometimes I work the nights and sleep while you’re at work, but this…”

“Felt different?” Waverly asks.

Nicole swallows heavily. “Yeah.”

“We never, ever, have to wake up alone again,” Waverly says. She knocks three times on the door.

“I think you’re supposed to knock on the ceiling if you want me,” Nicole says.

Waverly scoffs through the door. “Like I could reach it.”

Nicole laughs a little, and presses her hand against the door, pretending like she can feel Waverly pushing back. “This is real,” she whispers. She knows Waverly can’t hear her, but she doesn’t care. “This is real,” she repeats.

“Are you still there?” Waverly asks.

Nicole taps a finger against the wood. “Still here.”

“What time do you have?”

Nicole pulls back the front of her jacket, slipping her hand into the inner pocket and feeling for the cool, silver chain. Her pocket watch is heavy in her hand, but she finds the latch release and presses down, smiling softly when the front springs free. “Time to get married,” she says, as the second hand ticks across the sixty second mark.

“Well, then I’ll see you at the start of the rest of our lives,” Waverly says.

Nicole closes her eyes tight against the sudden burn she feels. “Okay,” she manages. “I love you.”

Wynonna taps her foot impatiently, and Nicole sighs, pushing off the door and trying to pull herself up to her full height. Wynonna starts to turn and stops, looking back at Nicole, her eyes narrowed. “Are you okay?”

Nicole nods silently.

“You look like you’re going to puke,” Wynonna continues. “So I’m just asking.”

“She’s not going to change her mind, right?” Nicole asks before she can stop herself. She claps her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. It was everything she hadn’t wanted to say earlier, but the words kept pushing and pushing.

Wynonna’s face softens. She checks over her shoulder, but no one is at the door pushing them to get into position. She wraps her hand around Nicole’s elbow and tugs her to the side of the front hall, away from Dolls and Jeremy setting the last of the guests.  

“She’s not going to change her mind,” Wynonna says quietly. “She’s never, ever changed her mind about you.”

“When we were in high school,” Nicole starts.

“When you were both too stupid to see what was in front of your faces?” Wynonna interrupts.

“You didn’t see it either,” Nicole points out.

Wynonna glares at her.

Nicole shuts her mouth and nods for Wynonna to continue.

“You were both stupid,” Wynonna says again. “I repeated that on purpose. Just because it’s your wedding day doesn’t mean you’re not an idiot.”

“Thanks,” Nicole grumbles.

“Just because you dated Shae and kissed Mercedes and flirted with Chrissy doesn’t mean you didn’t always love Waverly, right?”

Nicole wants to argue, but Wynonna keeps going.

“And just because Waverly dated Champ, and then didn’t date Champ, and then dated Champ again didn’t mean she wasn’t doing all of that to make you jealous, so you’d pay attention to her.” Wynonna huffs, blowing her hair out of her face. “Honestly, you guys were exhausting.”

“This isn’t a good pep talk,” Nicole points out.

“You don’t need a pep talk,” Wynonna says. She lifts her hand slowly and flicks her forefinger against Nicole’s forehead. “You just need to wake up and realize that Waverly has really, honestly, swear-on-my-Bad-Company-tape seriously been waiting to marry you since the first minute she understood what a wedding was.”

“You married our bicycles,” Nicole remembers. “You used the wedding vows from _The Godfather_.”

Wynonna shrugs. “Curtis laughed.”

Nicole feels something in her chest tighten. “I wish he was here.”

Something passes over Wynonna’s face, a look Nicole almost doesn’t recognize. Her eyes soften and her mouth twitches up at the corners. “He is,” she says quietly. “He’s been a part of everything, all of it.”

Nicole swallows heavily against the pressure building in her throat. “Yeah?”

Wynonna nods firmly. “Yes. And he’s totally judging you for your wedding colors.”

“He would have picked green,” Nicole says. “And it would have been worse.”

Wynonna snorts. “You’re right. That would have been terrible.”

Nathan raps his knuckles against the wall behind them. “Ladies? Dolls and Jeremy says that everyone is sitting. Valdez and Mercedes are waiting, and the Justice of the Peace says she’s ready to go.” He meets Nicole’s eyes. “Wanna get hitched?”

Something flops in Nicole’s stomach. “Okay,” she manages.

They shuffle towards the door, Nicole’s eyes straying to the other side of the hall where Waverly is waiting for her cue.

Mercedes leans in and presses a kiss to her cheek, lips dangerously close to the corner of Nicole’s mouth. “My last kiss,” she says dramatically.

Nicole rolls her eyes, but ducks her head. “Get out of here, would you?”

Mercedes winks and falls in line behind Valdez, straightening her shoulders and striding forward.

Nicole steps into Nathan’s side, clutching his arm. She watches Wynonna step up to the front of the entrance. Valdez starts down the aisle, an instrumental version of “More Than Words” playing softly from the DJ’s corner.

“Remember,” Nathan murmurs in her ear. “Inevitable.”

Nicole straightens up a little, her body relaxing. Something warm blooms in the center of her chest, pushing outward. “Inevitable,” she repeats, believing it.

She steps forward as the music starts to swell, her fingers digging into Nathan’s arm. She catches her mom’s eye in the crowd. Her mom is already crying, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief while she tries to balance Hayley. Doc smiles softly and reaches out, taking Hayley and bouncing her on his own hip. Dolls and Jeremy are next to him, their fingers laced together as she walks slowly up the aisle. Nedley is sitting behind them, his chest puffed out and his eyes glassy.

Valdez, Mercedes, and Wynonna line up alongside of the Justice of the Peace. Wynonna winks at Doc and then smiles at Nicole, grinning as “More Than Words” starts to fade out.

“This is going to be the best day of your life,” Nathan whispers in her ear as they reach the end of the aisle.

“Scout’s Honor?” she asks him quietly.

He presses three fingers to her arm as he moves around her, to go sit in the empty seat on the other side of their mom. “Scout’s honor,” he whispers back.

Nicole nods slightly, closing her eyes as the room goes quiet. “More Than Words” fades out and Nicole counts to three before the next song starts. She opens her eyes, finding Rosita immediately as she starts down the aisle. Eliza is right behind her, being careful to keep a few feet between herself and Rosita. Chrissy comes in behind her, flowers in front of her as walks.

Nicole inhales sharply as they line up on her side. The entire audience turns to the back of the dance hall, eyes on the door as it closes softly. Nicole knows that it means Waverly is right there, getting ready to walk down the aisle on Gus’s arm.

“Right here,” Wynonna mutters, nudging her over a few inches. “There.”

Nicole looks back over her shoulder and nods gratefully. “Here?”

“Right there,” Wynonna repeats softly.

The heavy wooden door at the end of the room opens, just as the chorus to “Love Walks In” starts.

Nicole feels the whole world tilt, Wynonna’s hand on her shoulder the only thing keeping her upright.

“I’m in deep,” she breathes out.

 


	2. i'm in deep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “We got married,” Waverly says in awe. 
> 
> “We did,” Nicole agrees. “And everything went according to plan.”
> 
> “Well,” Waverly starts.
> 
> “No,” Nicole says. “Everything went according to plan.” She rolls, trapping Waverly in her arms. “The plan was, get married. And we did that.”
> 
> “Your plan,” Waverly argues. “My plan was-”
> 
> “The same thing, but longer,” Nicole says affectionately. “But at the end of the day, we’re married.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The 'M' rating applies to this side.

“I’m in deep,” Nicole breathes out.

“Too deep to back out,” Wynonna mutters in her ear.

Nicole looks back over her shoulder and glares at Wynonna.

Wynonna winks back at her and nods towards the aisle. “You’re missing the whole show.”

Nicole looks back towards the start of the aisle and inhales so sharply that her throat burns. Waverly wouldn’t show her the dress; only Chrissy, Rosita, Eliza, Wynonna, and Gus knew what it looked like. Nicole had begged, one night, laying in bed as she traced hearts and stars over Waverly’s bare hipbone. She had pleaded with Waverly,  _ just tell me if it’s pink _ . Waverly had laughed and batted her hand away. 

_ It’s not pink _ , is Nicole’s first thought.

Her brain misfires before she can have a second one.

It’s lace, fitting Waverly’s body the way Nicole’s gun fits into her holster, like it’s been made to do just that. It hangs long, resting just above her ankles, lace layered over lace and a sheer, white fabric. There’s a thin, off-white band around her waist, right where Nicole’s hands rest. The lace splits and moves up to her shoulders, leaving just the sheer fabric behind to cover Waverly’s chest. The arms are loose, lace flowing around her elbows, and when she lifts a hand to touch her flower crown, it hangs down and floats around her arm.

“ _ Wow _ ,” Nicole breathes out softly.

Her eyes burn and there’s a lump in her throat. She thinks about all of the times she’s watched Waverly walk towards her: the day in The Patch with the sun in her hair, in her bedroom with The Smiths on, on the McCreadys’ front lawn in her _ neon lights _ bathing suit, down the front porch stairs on the night of their first date, coming out of the house in her prom dress, across the living room while Van Halen played, on skates at Shorty’s while an engagement ring burned a hole through her pocket.

None of them are  _ this _ time, with Waverly floating down the aisle in a long, lace dress and pink and blue flowers in her hair.

“ _ And then you sense a change, nothing feels the same. All your dreams are strange. Love comes walkin' in. _ ”

Waverly meets her eyes, and Nicole’s stomach turns over. She’s floating down the aisle effortlessly, one hand wrapped around Gus’s arm, the other holding a small bouquet of baby’s breath. She ducks her head, smiling bashfully at Nicole. Nicole can feel the back of her neck start to sweat under the collar of her shirt and suit jacket. 

“Wow,” she whispers again as Waverly comes closer.

Gus pats Waverly’s hand gently, moving it from her arm. She holds it out to Nicole. “I’m not giving her away,” Gus says pointedly. “I’m just making sure she doesn’t trip over this tablecloth.” She smiles softly and leans in, pressing a kiss to Waverly’s temple, just below her flower crown. “Curtis would say that he’s proud of you, baby. You, too, girl.”

Nicole swallows heavily and manages a small nod, her fingers flexing against Waverly’s hand. Waverly turns her hand over, lacing her fingers through Nicole’s. 

“You like it?”

“You look beautiful,” Nicole says quietly.

Waverly smiles shyly and grabs for the collar of Nicole’s jacket, rubbing the fabric between her fingertips. “You look aces,” she murmurs. 

Nicole smiles softly. “It’s just something I threw together.”

Waverly grins. “I like it a lot.”

The Justice of the Peace clears her throat softly. “Are you ladies ready to get married?”

Waverly turns and hands her bouquet to Chrissy. 

Nicole picks up Waverly’s free hand, turning to face her. “You want to do this, right?” 

Waverly’s mouth twitches at the corner. “Really?”

Nicole swallows hard. “I just… now is-”

“The objection part isn’t even until later,” Wynonna mutters from behind her. “If you’re going to interrupt your own wedding, can’t you wait till then?”

Nicole feels her cheeks flush. “Okay, okay,” she mutters. “I get it.”

“ _ Noob _ ,” Wynonna whispers. 

Nicole grinds her back teeth together, but nods at the Justice of the Peace on her right. 

The Justice of the Peace smiles widely at them. “We are gathered here today to witness the formal joining in the legal state of matrimony of Waverly Earp and Nicole Haught, under the authority given and provided by the Government of the Province of Alberta.” The Justice of the Peace looks past them, at the crowd of people all pressed in, witnessing their marriage. “By your presence, you celebrate with them the love they have discovered in each other, and you support their decision to commit themselves to one another for the rest of their lives.”

Nicole looks back over her shoulder and smiles softly at her mom and Gus, leaning on each other as they pass a handkerchief back and forth.

“Today we are here to celebrate love.” The Justice of the Peace pulls Nicole’s attention back to the front. “We come together to witness and proclaim the joining together of these two persons in a marriage based on love.”

The DJ is playing a soft instrumental of “Is This Love,” and Nicole can barely hear it over the Justice of the Peace talking, but she can feel it coursing through her veins.

“ _ Is this love, that I’m feeling? _ ”

_ Yes _ , she thinks.  _ It’s love and it’s hope and it’s _ ...

“Marriage is a commitment,” the Justice of the Peace continues. “Its success does not depend on feelings, circumstances, or moods, but on two people who are loyal to each other, and the vows they took on their wedding day. Marriage acknowledges that while each of you is an amazing and unique individual, you are even better together.”

Nicole grins crookedly, thinking of how they used to gang up on Wynonna during hide and seek; how they found cans of treasure together that summer they found their hideout; how Nicole laid in bed trying to get over Shae, and didn’t feel better until Waverly came over to read her  _ Rolling Stone _ ; how they spent a whole afternoon crafting her speech to convince Gus to let her mow the lawn; how they sat in Nicole’s Bonneville that Christmas and talked about communication; how they argued over where things would go in their new apartment, but still fell into bed together that night; how they move so seamlessly around each other on the weekends they’re both home, always in each other’s orbits.

“So I would ask that you always remember to cherish each other as special and unique individuals; respect each other’s thoughts and ideas; and live each day that you may share it together.”

Waverly rubs her thumb across the back of Nicole’s hand. Nicole looks down at their hands, then up at Waverly. She smiles softly, wishing she could lean in now and just kiss Waverly. It’s been almost twenty-four hours since their last kiss, and she wonders how 20-year-old-Nicole went months and months without being able to close the distance between them and kiss Waverly whenever she wanted to.

“Waverly and Nicole, as the two of you walk the road of married life together, you will quickly come to realize that marriage is not a one-sided affair. The concept of ‘what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is yours’ will no longer apply. There will need to be a sharing in all things...and that includes the sorrows as well as the good times.”

Nicole remembers those months after her dad left, angry and lashing out at everyone even though she was  _ sad _ . She remembers finding out about his new family and Waverly standing in the woods, calling him a  _ dickweed _ , the word an unfamiliar shape in her mouth. She remembers the nights in Wynonna’s bed, after Curtis died, lying awake and staring at the ceiling with Waverly’s hand tangled in her own. 

“But that should be no cause for regret or concern, because the good times in marriage will always overshadow the sorrows, especially if you allow love to sustain you,” the Justice of the Peace says, smiling at Nicole, and then Waverly. “Both of you should understand that marriage is not to be entered upon thoughtlessly or irresponsibly, but with a due and serious understanding and appreciation of the ends for which it is contracted.”

The Justice of the Peace turns to Waverly. “Please repeat after me: I do solemnly declare…”

“I do solemnly declare,” Waverly recites. 

“That I do not know of any lawful impediment why I, Waverly Earp, may not be joined in matrimony to Nicole Haught.”

Waverly straightens her shoulders. “That I do not know of any lawful impediment why I, Waverly Earp, may not be joined in matrimony to Nicole Haught.”

“And you,” The Justice of the Peace says to Nicole. “Please repeat after me: I do solemnly declare…”

Nicole’s hand twitches in Waverly’s. “I do solemnly declare.”

“That I do not know of any lawful impediment why I, Nicole Haught, may not be joined in matrimony to Waverly Earp.”

“That I do not know of any lawful impediment why I, Nicole Haught, may not be joined in matrimony to Waverly Earp,” Nicole repeats.

“I hope not,” Wynonna mumbles. “She’s a  _ Roller _ .”

Nicole lifts her foot to try and kick backwards, but puts it down when Waverly lifts an eyebrow.

The Justice of the Peace pauses, leaning in towards Nicole. “I wasn’t going to ask for objections, but if you-”

“ _ No _ ,” Nicole says quickly. “I mean, no.”

A laugh ripples through the crowd and Nicole’s cheeks flush again. Waverly ducks her head, trying to hide her own smile.

Someone clears their throat from behind Nicole. “I could-”

“Can it, Mercedes,” Nicole says without turning around. She catches Nathan’s eye and glares. He shrugs a shoulder back at her and switches Hayley to his other arm.

The Justice of the Peace nods. “Well, then. Let’s continue. Waverly?” she prompts.

They had decided that Waverly would read her vows first. Wynonna clears her throat, but Nicole shakes her head at their prearranged signal; she doesn’t need the vows she wrote down. She’ll remember them just fine. Waverly turns to Chrissy and takes her bouquet back, pulling a piece of paper out of the center of it. She smiles at Nicole and unrolls the piece of paper, gripping the edge of it so it doesn’t curl back in.

“Okay, so…” She trails off, ducking her head. Nicole watches the rise and fall of her shoulders as she breathes in and out, and then Waverly lifts her head again, looking Nicole in the eye. “They say that once you stop looking, the thing you want comes to you.”

“Explains why I can never find my car keys,” Nicole murmurs.

Wynonna snorts from behind her. Chrissy rolls her eyes.

Waverly shakes her head slowly and looks down at her paper again. “They say that once you stop looking, the thing you want comes to you. That once you stop trying to find it, ‘Love Walks In’.”

Nicole feels something in her chest tighten, and she inhales, the air catching in her throat.

“And from the moment I met you, Nicole Haught, I have been  _ so _ ‘Caught Up In You’.” Waverly steps forward, pushing onto the toes of her shoes. “We had some missteps along the way - I used to sit and wonder, ‘Don’t You Want Me?’ I used to wish you would just ‘Call Me’. I used to think ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,’ and that’s what we were doing, right?”

Nicole feels her face flush and she ducks her head. 

“It took me some time, but I finally figured it out,” Waverly continues. “You, Nicole Haught, have ‘Got A Hold On Me’.”

Somewhere in the audience, someone starts to cry. Nicole thinks it might be her mom, but she can’t bring herself to look. She’s staring at Waverly, a lump in her throat and and her stomach knotted.

Waverly’s voice is soft, her thumb rubbing across the back of Nicole’s hand. “Something in me said, ‘Tell Her About It’. I ignored it, because… what if I was wrong? What if you didn’t love me back? So I pushed the feeling down, but it was  _ always _ ‘More Than A Feeling’.”

Doc coughs loudly into his hand, hiding a smile. 

“I knew that from the moment we kissed. So I finally,  _ finally _ worked up the courage to tell you, and it was ‘Straight From The Heart’ and the  _ best _ thing happened. You… you loved me back.”

“ _ Straight from the heart _ ,” Wynonna whispers in awe.

“But,” Waverly says loudly, eyes narrowed for a moment as she looks over Nicole’s shoulder before she looks back down at her paper. “‘Love Is A Battlefield’ and we went our ‘Separate Ways’ for a long time. It was ‘Hard To Say I’m Sorry’, but we found each other with ‘Open Arms’ and I knew, deep in my heart, that ‘Against All Odds’, we would always find each other.” She looks up at Nicole, eyes glassy. “‘With or Without You’, ‘There’s Always Something There To Remind Me’ how much I love you. Sometimes, it’s as simple as you getting a third blanket out of the closet, or it’s something big, like staging the most amazing prom moment.” 

Nicole’s mom wails loudly, Gus cooing softly to get her to quiet down.

“‘Everybody Wants to Rule The World’,” Waverly says. “But I’ve always ever only wanted to love you.”

Nicole blinks hard against the tears forming in her eyes. They blur the flower crown Waverly is wearing, turning it into a mess of blue and pink neon-colored dots.

“And ‘The Power of Love’ is going to help us get through anything,” Waverly continues. “‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now’ and ‘I’m Never Gonna Give You Up’. So, ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ in us. ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ and everything we’ve been through. ‘Take On Me’ and ‘Time After Time’, I promise you an ‘Endless Love’. I promise to always follow you, ‘Round and Round’. I promise that, if ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’, that somebody is you. I promise, to love you with ‘Every Breath You Take’, because without you, ‘I’m just Livin’ On A Prayer’.

“I promise you,” Waverly repeats. “ _ Faithfully _ .”

Nicole opens and closes her mouth, and then opens it again, the words she wants to stay stuck in the back of her throat. 

Waverly looks up slowly, folding the piece of paper in her hand. “Faithfully,” she repeats.

“You…” Nicole shakes her head. “You wrote  _ that _ .”

Waverly shrugs one shoulder and gives Nicole a shy smile. “I tried to work in a few more titles, but it was totally messy, so…” She shrugs again.

“You wrote that,” Nicole whispers.

Waverly grins widely. “I did.”

Nicole closes her eyes. She can see Waverly on the front steps of the McCreadys’ house, six and looking for a fight. She can see Waverly promising to talk to Gus and Curtis about having Nicole’s birthday party at The Patch; Waverly in the winter, with her ice skates on trying to get Nicole to just try; Waverly showing off the new cheerleading uniform Stephanie Jones’s dad paid for; Waverly watching as they take pictures for the Valentine’s Day dance; Waverly on her first day of high school in her brand new L.A. Gear sneakers with the neon laces; Waverly in her prom dress; Waverly moving out for college; Waverly and Styx sitting on the steps and listening to Gus tell another story about when she met Curtis.

She can see the rest of their life in front of her: Waverly waking up next to her, their hands laced together on the pillow and their wedding bands catching the sunlight; driving to Moose Lake with Styx in the front seat, an open highway ahead of them, and Def Leppard in the tape deck; babysitting Hayley and letting her watch all the reruns of  _ Video Hits _ they have on VHS; family dinners at The Patch and sneaking kisses by the jukebox; Waverly getting promoted to the head of the department, then Principal; Nicole pinning on her Deputy Sheriff badge and then one day, hanging her hat in the Sheriff’s office; dancing to FireHouse in their kitchen.

Nicole opens her eyes and smiles.

The Justice of the Peace smiles softly and turns, a hand at Nicole’s elbow. “Nicole,” she prompts.

Nicole startles a little. “Right. Me.” She straightens her shoulders a little and takes a deep breath. “Waverly, I…” She freezes, her mind still stuck on  _ Faithfully _ and  _ Round and Round _ and  _ Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now _ .

Wynonna clears her throat again, prompting her to get a move on, and Nicole turns desperately, her hand outstretched. Wynonna looks down at Nicole’s hand and then up again. “Oh, you want-”

“Give it to me, Wynonna,” Nicole says through gritted teeth.

Wynonna hunches forward, rolling her shoulders in. The fabric of her dress, tight against her chest, loosens a little. Nicole looks up quickly, not wanting to stare down into the top of Wynonna’s dress. She glances down again and swallows.

“Did you…”

“Stick your speech in my dress?”

“In your  _ bra _ ?” Nicole hisses.

Wynonna pulls her hand out of her dress and wiggles until the dress is sitting in the same place it was before. “Technically,  _ I _ didn’t. Doc did.” She winks at Doc, his cheeks flushed red.

Nicole holds the folded piece of paper between her fingers. “How… How long has this been in there?”

Wynonna pats her gently on the cheek. “I knew it. Even on your wedding day, you’d be talking about how great my-”

“Wynonna,” Gus says sharply from her seat.

Wynonna sucks in her lips, trying to fight off a smile, and makes a show of pulling a finger across her mouth, zipping it.

Nicole feels like her face is burning, hot as the sun. Chrissy is just behind Waverly, not bothering to hide her smile. Rosita is just behind her, her face in her flowers. Even Eliza is smirking. Nicole looks into the crowd - Dolls is hiding a smile behind his hand, but Jeremy is grinning ear to ear.

“Now, why didn’t I think about that?” Mercedes murmurs behind her. “Why didn’t you put me in charge of something, Loverboy?”

Nicole groans and hangs her head. She can hear Waverly laugh softly, and then her hand is trailing along Nicole’s jawline, under her chin, lifting her head up.

“Your turn,” Waverly murmurs.

Nicole looks at the Justice of the Peace, who nods. Carefully, Nicole unfolds the piece of paper, staring down at the simple words she wrote. “It’s not very good,” she admits.

Waverly tips her head to the side. 

“My vows, I mean,” Nicole continues. “They’re not as good as-”

Waverly squeezes Nicole’s hand softly. “Baby.”

Nicole nods and takes a deep breath. “Right. Well.” She takes another breath and looks up. “I think I have always loved you. No, I  _ know _ I have always loved you. Even when love hurt, when I thought all love was for was breaking people in two, I kept on loving you. A wise man once told me that there were two things in the world that could truly kill a person. Women and music.”

Nicole had stared at Curtis, confused. “What do you mean?” she asked.

Curtis nodded at the jukebox. “Listen to them sing. What’re they singing about?”

Nicole squinted, tipping her head to one side to try and listen to the song playing. The dinner crowd faded out and she picked up on the medley before she heard the words.

“ _ Oh, you're a hard one. I know that you got your reasons: these things that are pleasin' you can hurt you somehow. _ ”

“He’s singing about heartbreak,” Curtis explained. “Listen to the next line.”

“ _ Don't you draw the queen of diamonds, boy. She'll beat you if she's able. _ ”

“Women and music, kiddo,” Curtis sighed. “They’ll break your heart every time.”

Nicole frowned. “They will?”

Curtis nodded. “Oh, loving them - women and music - will be the best thing you ever do in this world. But they both have a way of sinking in through the cracks in the wall you put up and tearing it down.”

Nicole puffed her chest out. “I don’t have any walls.”

Curtis looked at her, a small smile on his face. He put his hand down on her shoulder and squeezed softly. “Yes, you do, girl. But when you find someone, and you find the right song, it’ll come tumbling down. For the right girl, though...” He leaned down, his mouth next to his ear. “For the right girl, the heartbreak won’t even hurt that bad.” 

Nicole watched his eyes follow Gus across The Patch, serving a plate of fries to a booth.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go kiss my wife,” he said, not waiting for her answer.

Nicole watched him slip up behind Gus and kiss her on the cheek. Something flashed in front of her and Nicole pulled back, rolling her eyes as Waverly grinned up at her. “Knock it off,” she muttered, smiling.

“Let’s go on an adventure,” Waverly said, grabbing for her hand.

Nicole shakes her head softly. “But I think he was wrong, about the heartbreak. Because you and music are the only things in this world that have ever saved me,” she admits. “When everything was the worst, you and music were the two things in this world I could always count on.”

She folds the piece of paper and slides it into her pocket. “And I’m going to make sure you can always count on me. I promise to make you bologna sandwiches for the rest of our lives. I promise to love and cherish you, to be patient with you. I promise to always look at you like you’re neon lights. I promise to never tell anyone you absolutely can’t stand Madonna in  _ A League of Their Own,  _ and that Rosie O’Donnell is your favorite character.”

Waverly flushes pink, matching the flowers in her hair.

“I promise to love you, for as long as Survivor is the best band in the history of rock and roll.”

Waverly shakes her head. “That’s debatable.”

Nicole shrugs. “I’m willing to spend the rest of my life arguing about it.” She takes one more deep breath. “I promise to spend the rest of my life loving you. Faithfully,” she tacks on the end, biting down on her bottom lip.

“Copycat,” Wynonna mutters.

The Justice of the Peace clears her throat softly and looks to Wynonna. “The rings, please?”

Nicole’s eyes widen. “Please tell me those aren’t in your bra, too.”

Wynonna rolls her eyes. “As if. They wouldn’t fit,” she adds under her breath. She nods towards Doc. “I gave them to him.”

Doc pulls back a little. “You most certainly did not.” He starts patting his pockets.

Wynonna frowns. “I swear I did.”

“And I assure you, you did not,” Doc says.

Wynonna snaps her fingers. “Oh!” She points at Hayley, squirming in Nathan’s arms. “Check the kid.”

Nathan leans back a little, looking at Hayley. “Check what?”

“I swear to God, Wynonna,” Nicole starts. “If you put the rings in her diaper…”

Wynonna waves a hand at her. “What kind of person do you think I am?”

“Apparently, you’re the kind of person who sticks speeches in their bra,” Nicole reminds her. “Why wouldn’t you be the kind of person to stick wedding rings in a diaper?”

“They’re in her hair!” Nathan announces. He’s trying to work the rings out of one of her curly pigtails, fumbling with the hair tie. Doc starts working on the second ponytail. It takes them a minute, but Nathan breathes out a “ _ finally” _ and hands Hayley to Doc, pressing the rings into Nicole’s hand. He glares at Wynonna for a moment.

Wynonna shrugs. “We didn’t lose them, did we? That was my only job.”

Nicole takes a deep, steadying breath and shakes her head slightly. “You’re lucky you’re my best friend,” she mumbles.

Wynonna elbows her gently. “Yeah, yeah.”

The Justice of the Peace smiles crookedly. “Are we ready to exchange rings?” She waits for them to nod. “Now,  wedding rings are an ancient symbol that two persons have committed themselves to each other, to the exclusion of all others. But they also hold a deeper meaning.” She looks at both of them. “The precious metal is a sign that the love shared between a couple is very valuable, and as a circle, the ring tells us that love has no real beginning or end.

Nicole hands her the rings. 

The Justice of the Peace passes one to Waverly. “Waverly, place the ring on Nicole’s finger, hold it there, and repeat after me.”

Waverly’s hand is warm when she picks up Nicole’s, the ring hovering over the first knuckle on her left ring finger. 

“Receive this ring as a symbol of my vows to you.”

“Receive this ring as a symbol of my vows to you,” Waverly repeats.

“Whenever you look at it, know that I love, honor, and cherish you above all others.”

Waverly repeats the Justice of the Peace. She grins as she looks up at Nicole and slides the wide gold band along her finger.

The Justice of the Peace turn to Nicole. “Nicole, place the ring on Waverly’s finger, hold it there, and repeat after me.”

Nicole picks up Waverly’s hand, the ring just a little thinner than her own.

“Receive this ring as a symbol of my vows to you,” the Justice of the Peace says. “Whenever you look at it, know that I love, honor, and cherish you above all others.” 

Nicole repeats it word for word, sliding the ring down Waverly’s finger as she finishes speaking.

“Wow,” Nicole breathes out, looking at the thin gold band settled against Waverly’s sapphire engagement ring.

“Right?” Waverly asks quietly.

The Justice of the Peace smiles widely at both of them. “Waverly and Nicole, in as much as you have pledged yourself, one to the other, by the exchanging of vows and rings I, Clara Lyndon, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Marriage Act, do hereby pronounce you…

Nicole squeezes Waverly’s hand tightly.

“Wife and wife.” The Justice of the Peace winks. “You may now kiss the bride.”

Nicole stares at Waverly,  _ her wife _ , and tries to remember how to breathe. 

Wynonna kicks her in the back of the leg. “Dude,  _ kiss her _ .”

Nicole stumbles forward a step, the back of her neck burning. Waverly’s hands slide up Nicole’s arms, settling at the shoulders of her jacket. Nicole ducks her head, angling away to avoid Waverly’s flower crown, and pauses, their lips barely touching.

“Do you hear that?” Waverly asks, her breath hot against Nicole’s mouth.

“Hear what?”

Waverly holds her breath for a second. “That.”

Nicole closes her eyes and pauses, listening hard. She can just barely pick up on it, low under Wynonna behind her chanting ‘ _ Kiss! Kiss!’  _ She opens her eyes, looks at Waverly, and grins.

Nicole leans in and kisses Waverly,  _ her wife _ , as the instrumental version of “Just Like Heaven” plays and everyone cheers.

Everyone is cheering and clapping when Nicole pulls back. Her mom is crying, the handkerchief from before gone as she wipes at her cheeks with her hands. Gus is leaning heavily on her, her own head ducked. Nathan has two fingers in his mouth as he whistles. Doc is slapping his hands together with a loud  _ boom _ . Jeremy is shouting, pushing off Dolls’s shoulder as he tries to jump into the air. Dolls has one hand cupped around his mouth, shouting. Nedley, standing in between Shorty and her mom, nods sharply at her, his eyes sparkling. 

Chrissy, Rosita, and Eliza are squealing, pulling at Waverly’s arm to get a look at both of her rings. Nicole turns around and grins at Wynonna, steadying herself as Wynonna lunges forward, hugging her tightly. Another body comes crashing into her, and then another; Mercedes and Valdez throwing their arms around Nicole and Wynonna.

She feels Waverly grab her arm, her fingers tightening in the fabric of Nicole’s jacket. Nicole peels herself out of the hug she’s stuck in, spinning back around to look at Waverly,  _ her wife _ . 

Waverly holds out a hand. “Let’s go.”

Nicole grabs her hand, lacing their fingers together. She waits for Waverly to pick up the hem of her dress before she starts down the aisle, people still whistling and cheering and clapping on every side of her. She laughs, tucking Waverly under her arm, and gets to the end of the aisle, pushing through the heavy door and into the small entryway.

Nicole pauses and pulls Waverly out of the front door of the The Grange, down the sidewalk a few feet and then across the grass. She tugs her to the small yard shed at the edge of the parking lot and backs Waverly up slowly, hidden from the crowd rushing out of the building to take in some sunshine. The reception will start soon; the DJ just has to move his setup and they’ll be good to go. Bobo is already working the grills they rented, stationed just outside of the side exit of the conference area, and he’s got a few guys he knows helping out. Nicole knows that as soon as they go back into that building, they won’t have a minute to themselves until everyone leaves. 

“What’re you doing?” Waverly asks, breathless.

Nicole smiles widely. “We did it,” she says, looking down at Waverly.

_ Her wife _ . 

“We did it,” Waverly echoes, her hips pressed against Nicole’s.

“We’re married.”

“Married.” 

Nicole loops her arms around Waverly’s waist, her hands meeting at the small of Waverly’s back.

“But we’re out here, instead of in there,” Waverly says, her eyes searching Nicole’s face. “Why?”

“So I can kiss  _ my wife _ for one minute before everyone steals you away,” Nicole says, leaning down.

Waverly ducks her kiss. “Me?” she asks as Nicole’s mouth lands on her cheek. “Not me.  _ You _ .”

Nicole rolls her eyes. “You’re being ridiculous.”

Waverly shakes her head. “You just don’t know how good you look in that suit.”

Nicole wiggles her eyebrows. “Oh, yeah?”

Waverly licks her lips. “Very…  _ clutch _ .”

“Aces,” Nicole breathes out..

“Nicole!”

Nicole groans and drops her head to Waverly’s shoulder. 

“Nicole!” Wynonna shouts again. She waits ten seconds and then calls out a third time. “Five-O!”

Nicole sighs and lifts her head, her mouth open to yell back.

Waverly hooks a finger under Nicole’s chin, pulling her head around. “She can wait a minute,” Waverly whispers. “I’m talking to my wife.”

Nicole’s mouth closes and she sighs, smiling as Waverly leans in.

_ Her wife _ .

 

-

Wynonna finds them after a few minutes, just as Nicole is figuring out how Waverly’s dress is clasped together at the base of her neck. Her hands are in Waverly’s hair, winding the long strands around her fingers as she tips Waverly’s head back, her mouth following the long line of Waverly’s neck.

“My  _ eyes _ ,” Wynonna repeats for the fifth time, marching them across the lawn. She has each of them by the collar, pushing them forward. Nicole knows she could turn and easily break the grip Wynonna has on her, but she looks at Waverly and winks instead. “Don’t do those gooey eyes. I don’t like those eyes.”

“Wynonna,” Nicole says. “I have some bad news for you.”

Wynonna rolls her eyes. “Whatever. I already checked and those rumors about Bad Company breaking up aren’t true, so nice try.”

“That’s not what I was going to say,” Nicole sings.

Wynonna glares, then shakes her head. “I’m going to regret asking, but… what?”

“I married  _ your sister _ ,” Nicole breathes out. “And I get to make those eyes at her for the  _ rest of my life _ .”

Waverly sighs dreamily. “Forever.”

Nicole steps towards Waverly, Wynonna’s hand tightening on her collar. “Forever,” she echoes.

Wynonna makes a gagging motion and tugs hard at Nicole’s collar. “Down, boy.”

“Don’t talk to my wife like that,” Waverly says quickly.

Nicole feels something in her chest loosen and slide into her stomach; something warm. 

Wynonna gags again, and stumbles, nearly taking Nicole and Waverly down with her. She catches herself and keeps pushing them across the lawn, up the stairs to the front door of The Grange, and into the entryway. She steers them to the side, towards the conference area they turned into a reception hall. At the last second, she jerks them hard to the left and into the small room Waverly had been in before.

“Alright, everyone!” Wynonna says to the small crowd. “Pay up!” 

Nicole tries to twist in Wynonna’s grip. “Pay what?”

Wynonna keeps pushing them further into the room until they stop in front of Gus. “Found them,” she declares happily.

Gus narrows her eyes at the three of them, looking each of them up and down. “Well, shit. Joan!” she says. “Get my purse. I owe John Henry some money.”

Waverly’s mouth drops open. “What?” she manages.

Mercedes narrows her eyes. “Was Loverboy’s suit jacket undone? Even a little bit?”

Wynonna shakes her head silently, smiling widely.

Mercedes curses under her breath. “I had more faith in you, Little Earp.”

“Mrs. Loverboy,” Waverly corrects, crossing her arms over her chest. “Officially.”

Mercedes raises an eyebrow slowly. “Well, well.” She nods. “Mrs. Loverboy it is.”

Waverly smiles shyly and leans into Nicole’s side, tucking her face into Nicole’s arm. Nicole presses a kiss to her hair, her hand tracing circles on Waverly’s arm, over the lace of her dress. 

Nathan shakes his head as he fishes into his wallet, handing Doc a few bills. “We had money on Nicole missing her jacket, at least.”

Nicole’s mom shakes her head. “I was confident that flower crown wouldn’t still be on,” she sighs.

“You guys  _ bet _ on us?” Nicole asks, still trying to figure it out.

“And I won,” Wynonna says. “Folks, tell her what she’s won.”

“A drink!” Jeremy announces. He shoulders into the room, his arms full of beer cans. Dolls comes in behind him, holding more cans. “One drink before you guys go in there as a married couple.” He passes two to Nicole. She pops the tab open and hands one to Waverly. She lifts it to her mouth to take a sip, but Dolls bats her hand away as he reaches past her to hand Doc and Wynonna their beers.

“Wait,” he says firmly. He looks over his shoulder and smiles softly, lowering his voice. “Jeremy has a small speech.”

Jeremy clears his throat as Nedley takes the last beer. He holds his can up, waiting for everyone to do the same. Nicole holds back a laugh as she watches Nedley sigh and pull the can away from his mouth, holding it up instead.

“I just wanted to… to congratulate you two,” Jeremy starts. His voice is already thick with tears. “For letting me -  _ us _ \- be a part of this very, very special day.”

Nicole laces her fingers in Waverly’s, feeling Waverly squeeze back. 

“At one point in my life, I was… going postal about something,” Jeremy continues, casting a look back at Dolls. “And without you, Nicole, I wouldn’t have gone after the one thing in life that I really wanted. Do you remember what you told me?”

Nicole shakes her head, lying as the back of her neck starts to sweat.

“You said that the best things could happen, if I just gave it a chance. You hauled me up by the suspenders and told me that this could be my year.” He tips his beer can in Nicole’s direction. “This is your year, my friend.” He straightens up a little. “To Nicole and Waverly.”

“To Nicole and Waverly,” everyone echoes, taking long sips from their cans. 

Nicole watches Wynonna lift her can, but as everyone takes a long swallow of their own beer, Wynonna quietly puts her own down, leaning into Doc’s side. Doc turns his head and presses his mouth to Wynonna’s forehead. Nicole studies them over the top of her beer can, frowning softly.

Gus checks the watch on her wrist and clicks her tongue. “We better get out there. The DJ said he was close to being ready. I’ll send one of the girls back here when they’re about to announce you,” she says to Nicole and Waverly.

Everyone slips out, leaving Nicole and Waverly behind. Nicole turns as the door closes, pressing her forehead against the top of Waverly’s head, breathing in the smell of her shampoo and the fresh flowers. Waverly’s hands slide across the front of her suit jacket and undo the button, dipping inside the jacket to move along her ribs. Nicole’s eyes flutter closed as Waverly’s hands move up, over the swell of her chest, resting hot against where Nicole’s heart is beating.

“Baby,” Nicole murmurs.

“Everyone thinks we were already having sex,” Waverly mumbles, her breath hot against Nicole’s neck. “ _ Gus _ was placing bets on us bumpin’ uglies.”

Nicole groans. “Please don’t say Gus and  _ that _ in the same sentence, ever again.”

“Your  _ mom _ had money down on us gettin’ jiggy with-”

Nicole reaches a hand up blindly and smacks it against Waverly’s chin before she finds her mouth, trying to stop her from speaking. 

Someone knocks loudly at the door. “Hey, quit mackin’ on each other and get out here.”

Nicole rolls her eyes. She steps back from Waverly and slowly adjusts her flower crown, her fingers brushing against Waverly’s cheek as she drops her hand. Waverly reaches out and buttons Nicole’s jacket, smoothing it out and tugging on the ends so it’s flat.

When they open the door, Wynonna is leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the entryway, picking at her nails. She sighs dramatically. “Get a room,” she says.

“We had one,” Nicole grumbles.

Waverly elbows her softly before taking her hand and lacing their fingers together. “The DJ is ready?” she asks.

Wynonna nods, her eyes dark and clouded. “Hey,” she says quietly. “Wait a second?”

Nicole stops, her arm jerking when Waverly doesn’t catch Wynonna’s request. Waverly frowns and Nicole rubs at her shoulder. 

Wynonna picks at the hemline of her dress, looking at the floor for a moment. “I know you guys are, like, going on a honeymoon after this.”

Nicole frowns softly.

Waverly giggles. “As if. School starts in, like, a week. I’m moving classrooms this year, too. The only honeymoon we’re taking is-”

“Two days,” Nicole says quickly. She blinks, her own words catching her off guard. But she nods anyway, and she turns to Waverly and grabs both of her hands, holding them tight against her chest. “Let’s take two days.”

Waverly frowns. “But… you didn’t want to take a honeymoon?”

Nicole nods. “I know. But Nedley won’t let me come into the station…” She trails off, her eyes widening. “That’s not why,” she rushes to add. “I’m just saying, we should do something. Just the two of us. Just… Just two days. We’ll go down to Moose Lake. Nathan is always saying how he knows a guy who would let him use his Fleetwood Tioga Class C.”

Waverly squints at her. “You’re just suggesting that one because it has Fleetwood in the title.”

“Well, yeah,” Nicole breathes out. “I already have the perfect roadtrip playlist in my head,” she admits, her voice strained. “It starts with ‘Go Your Own Way’ and ends with ‘Gypsy’.”

“Of course,” Waverly says dryly.

“But that doesn’t matter,” Nicole rushes on. “Let’s get out of Purgatory, just for a little bit. We’ll go tomorrow, or the next day. Just two days. You and me and Styx and a tent on wheels named Rhiannon, at Moose Lake,  _ married _ .”

Waverly softens a little, her shoulders falling. “Of course,” she breathes out. She cups Nicole’s face and wets her bottom lip with the tip of her tongue. “Of course, baby.”

“Are you guys going to be like this for the rest of my life?” Wynonna asks, leaning into Nicole’s line of sight. “Because it’s grody.”

Waverly claps her hands together. “Okay. So, a honeymoon. What were you saying, Wynonna?”

Wynonna shrugs a shoulder. “It’s no big.”

Nicole studies the sharp angles of her shoulders and her pointed elbows as Wynonna pulls her arms over her chest. Her mouth is turned down at the corners and she’s tapping her right foot against the floor.  _ It’s not no big, _ Nicole thinks to herself.

“What is it?” she asks.

Wynonna looks at up from the floor. “I was just going to say that… I know you guys are going on a honeymoon, which, by the way,” she says, pointing at Waverly. “I’m surprised you didn’t have some, like, trip to Mexico planned out, or something.”

“Mexico?” Nicole repeats. 

Wynonna waves a hand at her. “Or, like, wherever they invented Rollers.”

Nicole opens her mouth and closes it again, shaking her head. “I’m not even… No.”

Wynonna winks. 

Chrissy pokes her head out of the reception area, frowning when she spots them. “Are you two coming out, or what?”

Wynonna turns, her shoulders high again and the corners of her mouth turned up. “I thought they already did that.”

Chrissy rolls her eyes. “Well, we’re all here whenever you two decide you’re ready.”

“Come on, Chrissy,” Wynonna says, sighing. “It took Tweedledee and TweedleFive-O  _ years _ to even dedicate slow songs to each other. You think they’re  _ ready _ to go out there and dance to one?” She shrugs when Waverly and Nicole both frown at her. “What? Neither of you are  _ dumb _ .”

“That’s not…  _ Wynonna _ ,” Nicole says, her voice firm and low. “What is it?”

Wynonna sighs and throws her arms up in the air. “It’s nothing, you Drama Queen. I was just going to ask if you guys wanted to go out into the woods and maybe put the sign for our secret hideout back up. You know… Relive the good ol’ days.” She wiggles her eyebrows at Nicole. “I’ll even have Doc bury some treasure and Waverly will pack you, like, ten fluffernutter sandwiches.”

“No, I won’t,” Waverly says. “She doesn’t let me make them anymore. She doesn’t like the way I cut the crusts off.”

Wynonna holds her hands to her chest. “Oh,  _ you guys _ . Your first fight as a married couple.”

“Can it, Wynonna,” they say at the same time.

“They’re just going to skip your first dance at this point,” Chrissy says loudly, cutting into their conversation.

Nicole grabs Waverly’s hand and pulls her towards Chrissy.

“Wait, what did you decide on for your first dance?” Wynonna asks, following them. 

Nicole catches Waverly’s eye and grins. She hadn’t told anyone besides Waverly and the DJ what the song list was for tonight. She had made a mixtape, but the DJ, a guy with black and purple jacket he swore he got for DJing a Backstreet Boys launch party, had laughed and handed it back to her after he wrote down the tracklist.

“Let it go, baby,” Waverly had said quietly, stroking a hand down the small of Nicole’s back.

“Is he going to use…” She groaned when she watched the DJ open a large binder and flip through page after page of compact discs. “ _ No _ ,” she said.

Waverly was already shaking her head. “We put down a deposit.”

“That was  _ before _ I knew he used compact discs.”

“CDs,” Waverly corrected. “No one calls them ‘compact discs’ anymore.”

Nicole scowled. “Perry. He told me I could trust this guy. I should have known he’d be trying to get me to use compact discs.”

“You’re just going to keep saying ‘compact discs’ over and over, aren’t you?” Waverly asked miserably. 

Nicole shrugs a shoulder at Wynonna as she stands behind the door leading into the reception. Chrissy has already closed the door and is heading to tell the DJ that they’re ready to go. Nicole can hear the instrumental version of Genesis’s “Hold Onto My Heart” fade out into silence. There’s the scratch of someone breathing into a microphone.

“Oh, you’ll see,” she says to Wynonna.

Wynonna blinks at her. “What the hell does that mean?”

“Attention, folks,” the DJ says, his voice over the microphone seeping out from under the door. “Can I direct your attention to the back of the room?” There’s a pause while he waits. “Thank you, thank you. Now, for the first time as wife and wife, let’s put it together for Nicole and Waverly!” he announces.

The doors to the reception swing open, Jeremy and Dolls on either side of them, and Nicole steps forward, pulling Waverly with her. Everyone is on their feet, clapping hard and cheering again. She undoes the button on her jacket, the one she just made Waverly do up, and tugs at the collar of her shirt. Doc is stomping his feet and whistling again, two fingers in his mouth. Nathan has Hayley up on his shoulders, and he’s bouncing her up and down. 

Nicole stops for a moment, her eyes wide and her chest tight.

There’s Ms. Ruthie and Helen Gentile, her plus one. There’s Linda and Cub. There’s Cecil Wright, Jr. and some of the guys from the early Sunday morning counter at The Patch. There’s the bridesmaids’ table - Chrissy and Perry leaning into each other, Rosita standing on a chair, Eliza elbowing her boyfriend Earl to get out of the her way, Valdez holding Leslie’s hand and smiling. There’s Gus and her mom, eyes bright and glassy as they scream. Nedley is standing, Styx sitting patiently at his side. Nathan and Mercedes are laughing at the small screams Hayley makes. Doc is staring at them, the look on his face faraway.

_ These are her people; this is her home _ .

Waverly squeezes her hand.

_ This is her wife _ .

Waverly tugs softly, pulling Nicole forward until they’re at the edge of the dance floor. 

“Ladies and Gentlemen, please take a seat while Nicole and Waverly have their first dance.”

They move to the middle of the small dance floor, turning to face each other. Nicole lets her hands fall to Waverly’s waist, flexing lightly over the lace of her dress. Waverly steps closer, her hips against Nicole’s. Nicole is sure that this is what it would have felt like at Stephanie Jones’s party, all those years ago. It’s not as crowded and she’s not as nervous, but there’s something in her stomach that keeps turning over just enough to keep her on her toes. Waverly smiles up at her, the lights above them cresting over the flowers on her head, and Nicole breathes out.

“It’s not a traditional first dance,” Nicole had said before she explained her choice to Waverly, standing in front of the stereo in her white undershirt, her jeans somewhere behind the couch. “And it’s not our Journey song, either, but it’s  _ one _ of our songs.”

Waverly sat up on the couch, Nicole’s flannel shirt hanging loose on her shoulders. “So, what is it?”

Nicole took a deep breath and pressed play.

The opening note filled their apartment, and Waverly’s eyes widened for a moment before she grinned. 

“ _ Perfect _ ,” she whispered. She crooked her finger and beckoned Nicole closer. “Come here.”

The clean guitar melody starts up slowly, and Waverly smiles. “Perfect,” she breathes out. “Come here.” She lifts a little higher and kisses Nicole just as Joe Elliott starts singing.

“ _ Out of touch, out of reach, yeah. You could try to get closer to me. _ ”

From somewhere behind her, Nicole hears a strangled noise that sounds just like that time Wynonna found out Tucker Gardner had tried to pay Champ Hardy to unspool her Bad Company  _ Straight Shooter _ cassette tape. She glued Champ’s hand together during art class before he could strike.

Nicole grins.  “ _ I'm in luck, I'm in deep, yeah _ ,” she sings along. 

She had stared at the playlist board in their living room for two hours the other night, still unsure of what she wanted to do. When she started to sway in place, Waverly had pushed her onto the couch and hung a sheet over the board.

“You’re thinking about it too hard,” Waverly said.

Nicole pushed up onto her elbows, her legs stretched out and her ankles hanging over the arm of the couch. “I just-”

Waverly shook her head sharply. “No. No more thinking.”

“I’m nervous,” Nicole admitted. “I don’t want to get it wrong.”

Waverly lifted her leg and settled over Nicole’s hips, a knee on either side of Nicole. Nicole’s hands drifted to Waverly’s thighs, sliding up over her denim jeans. “Get what wrong?” she asked, lifting her arms above her head.

“What?” Nicole asked, distracted by the way Waverly’s shirt lifted and showed off the slight curve of her stomach.

Waverly bit down on her bottom lip “What are you nervous about getting wrong?”

Nicole swallowed hard. “Uh…” She watched as Waverly reached down and peeled up the hem of her shirt, tugging it over her head and throwing it somewhere over the back of the couch. Distantly, Nicole could hear Styx snort softly, but she could only stare at the smooth skin stretching out above her. “The song,” she managed.

Waverly leaned down, the ends of her hair dragging along Nicole’s front. “I know a secret to getting over your nerves,” she murmured against Nicole’s neck. “Wanna know it?”

Nicole nodded breathlessly.

“Try to pay attention,” Waverly whispered as she started to push at the sleeves of Nicole’s flannel.

“I’m nervous,” Nicole whispers.

Waverly doesn’t lift her head from where it’s resting against Nicole’s cheek. “Why?”

“Everyone is staring at us,” Nicole says back.

“Because it’s  _ our _ party,” Waverly says, laughing. “You’re a Roller, and dancing in the middle of a crowded room scares you? You own a gun, you know.”

Nicole spins Waverly out, catching her off guard. “You’re a teacher, but you still have nightmares about teaching your tenth graders in your underwear.” She spins Waverly back in.

“ _ I gotta know tonight, if you're alone tonight. Can't stop this feeling, can't stop this fire. _ ”

“That’s a real fear,” Waverly defends.

Nicole tightens her grip around Waverly’s waist, their bodies pressed tightly together. “I know a secret to getting over your nerves,” she whispers. “Wanna know it?”

Waverly nods, the corners of her mouth turned up.

“Then pay attention,” Nicole breathes out, dipping her head to kiss Waverly.

“ _ Oh, I get hysterical, hysteria. Oh, can you feel it, do you believe it? It's such a magical mysteria, when you get that feelin', better start believin'. 'Cause it's a miracle, oh, say you will, ooh, babe. Hysteria, when you're near _ .”

“The floor is now open,” the DJ says quietly. “Please feel free to join the newlyweds on the dance floor.”

“ _ Out of me, into you, yeah. You could hide, it's just a one way street. _ ”

Out of the corner of her eye, Nicole sees Wynonna grab Doc by the shoulder and haul him towards the dance floor. He trips over his feet, but catches himself and slings an arm around Wynonna’s waist, pulling her close. Wynonna spins him around and pushes him backwards until he’s bumping against Nicole’s shoulder.

“ _ Really _ ?” Wynonna hisses. “You  _ really _ picked ‘Hysteria’ as your first song?”

Nicole grins and spins Waverly in a lazy circle. “It was the only song that could really do this moment justice, don’t you think?”

Waverly laughs and tightens her grip around Nicole’s neck, pressing close so she doesn’t fall down.

“I wish I hadn’t agreed to never punch you again,” Wynonna grumbles.

Doc frowns. “I’m afraid I do not understand the implication of the song.”

Nicole laughs, throwing her head back. Waverly’s cheeks flush pink. 

Wynonna groans. “You don’t  _ know _ ?”

“Unlike  _ you _ , I don’t go around telling everyone about the night I-” Nicole cuts herself off. She can feel the collar of her shirt sticking to her neck. “Not that there’s anything wrong with it,” she adds.

Wynonna snorts, pushing the brim of Doc’s hat back. “Of course there isn’t. Why  _ wouldn’t _ I brag about it?”

Doc’s cheeks flush. “Oh,” he breathes out as understanding hits him. “I do wish you wouldn’t.”

“And deny everyone the drugstore novel romance they all want?” Wynonna sighs. “I would never.”

Waverly tugs gently on Nicole’s collar, pulling her attention back around. She leans up on her tiptoes, her forehead resting on the bridge of Nicole’s nose.

“ _ 'Cause it's a miracle, oh, say you will, ooh, babe. Oh, can you feel it, ooh, babe when you're near _ ,” she sings as the song winds down.  

People are scattered around the dance floor - Wynonna and Doc careen off towards Eliza and Earl; Jeremy and Dolls are swaying in one corner. Ms. Ruthie has Junior on his feet, and she’s spinning him in circles while Helen Gentile watches from their table. Mercedes and Nathan are spinning in slow circles, their foreheads pressed together. Her mom sways side to side with Hayley in her arms, rocking her back and forth.

“ _ God, it's a miracle. Oh, say you will, oh, babe, say you will… _ ”

Waverly curls her fingers over Nicole’s collar, her fingernails scratching against Nicole’s neck. 

“ _ Get closer to me, get closer, baby. Baby, closer, (closer) get closer (get closer), closer to me _ ,” Nicole sings, spinning Waverly one last time and dipping her down.

Waverly squeals and her grip tightens painfully on Nicole’s neck. 

The room goes quiet as the DJ works on transitioning into the next song, and Nicole pulls Waverly upright again, kissing her softly as everyone around them claps. She peels her jacket off and tosses it in Nathan’s direction. He catches it easily and drops it behind him at the table he’s sharing with their mom.

“Let me,” Waverly says, tugging at Nicole’s arm. She unbuttons the cuff and rolls the sleeve carefully, working slowly. She frowns, studying her work as she settles the fabric just above Nicole’s elbow, and then nods, satisfied. She does it with the other sleeve, tugging at Nicole’s bowtie until it’s a little straighter.

“Thanks, baby,” Nicole murmurs.

“Anything for my wife,” Waverly says, winking.

_ Waverly _ , Nicole thinks.  _ My wife _ . 

“Ms. Gentile,” Waverly says brightly.

“Oh, dear, please. Call me Helen,” Ms. Gentile says, resting her hand on Waverly’s arm. “I’m so happy for the two of you.”

Pine, across the room, catches Nicole’s eyes and waves her over. 

“Go, baby,” Waverly says. “I’ll do my round, you do yours.” She presses a kiss to Nicole’s cheek. “I’ll see you in a few.”

Nicole smiles gratefully and winks at Ms. Ruthie before she makes her way across the room.

“Haught! Haught! Haught!” Pine, Diaz, Landry, and Conlin all chant over Van Halen’s “When It’s Love.” When she gets close enough, they all grab for her, pulling her into the middle of them and clapping her hard on the shoulders.

“Hey, hey,” she protests, pushing their hands off her clean, white shirt. When she finally pushes them away, she looks around the small circle. 

“Haught, we got you a gift,” Pine declares.

Nicole groans. “Oh, no.”

Diaz grins and turns back to their table. “It’s not much.”

“And Lonnie wrapped it,” Conlin adds, nodding at the  _ Ottawa Citizen _ newspaper wrapping.

“But it’s from us to you,” Landry finishes.

Diaz pushes it into her hands.

Nicole turns it over. It’s heavy and shaped like a picture frame. She peels one corner of the wrapping back and snorts. It’s a picture frame. She rips the rest of the wrapping off and looks at the back of the frame where the whole department has scribbled their names down. Slowly, she turns the frame over in her hands and gasps.

“ _ Guys _ ,” she breathes out.

Landry shrugs. “We know how much you like them, so…”

Nicole runs a finger against the glass, right over Joe Elliott’s signature in the middle of the triangle on the front of the  _ Hysteria _ album. “You got me… You got me a  _ signed _ Def Leppard  _ Hysteria _ album,” she whispers.

Conlin snorts. “And we didn’t even know it was going to be your wedding song.”

Nicole looks up, still unable to believe what she’s holding. “But…  _ where _ ?”

Diaz shakes his head. “You’ll never believe this, but Lonnie knows a guy.”

“ _ Lonnie _ ,” Nicole repeats.

Pine shrugs. “He knows a guy who worked with them on a tour at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver in ‘95.” He shakes his head. “I couldn’t believe it, either.”

Nicole holds the gift close to her chest. “Where  _ is _ Lonnie?”

Pine rolls his eyes. “He’s trying to sweet-talk the DJ into playing Michael Bolton.”

Nicole snorts. “As if.”

“I told him,” Diaz says. “I told him he didn’t a chance in hell, and that you probably gave the DJ extra to make sure no one could request songs that messed with your tracklist.”

Nicole feels her face flush. “Okay, okay.”

“She probably threatened to have him arrested,” Pine continues.”

“Well, that’s just-”

“Or do that thing my wife likes to do, where she writes to the Editor of the  _ Ottawa Citizen _ and complains,” Landry adds. 

“Was that her, complaining about that seafood restaurant you two went to in Edmonton?” Pine asks.

Landry sighs. “Was it signed  _ Peaceless in Purgatory _ ?”

Pine claps his hands together. “That’s the one.”

Nicole rolls her eyes. “I didn’t do any of those things. And I’m not going to give him a bad review.”

“Even though he’s using CDs?” Diaz asks, pointing at the reflection of the lights against the back of the disc as the DJ turns it over in his hands, queuing up the next song. 

Nicole grits her teeth. “Perry Crofte,” she growls.

They all cross themselves, a thing they started doing after Chrissy got married. Nicole always rolls her eyes when they do; she’s not sure why they’re all so dramatic.

“What did The Chosen One do this time?” Pine asks.

“That’s a stupid nickname,” she tells them.

“You’re just jealous we didn’t give it to you first,” Diaz says, punching her lightly in the shoulder.

“Boys, boys,” Landry says, shouldering Conlin out of the way. “Let the grownups talk, would you?” He slings his arm across the back of Nicole’s shoulders. “You’re married now.”

“It’s no wonder you passed through the academy,” Nicole says dryly. 

“You’re different now, Haught,” he says. Diaz opens his mouth, but Landry shushes him, turning her away from the group and blocking the rest of the guys with his wide shoulders. “You have to be smarter now. Think quicker. No throwing yourself into a fire. You have someone waiting at home for you.”

Nicole grins crookedly. “I’ve always had someone waiting at home for me.”

Landry gives her a tight smile. “It’s just a little different now,” he says. “You might not feel it now, but you will.” He pats her softly on the shoulder. “You will.”

Nicole raises an eyebrow, but smiles when Landry looks down at her and grins. He turns her around and back towards the group. “Let’s drink!”

“Haught,” Nedley says gruffly from behind her. “A word?”

Nicole swallows hard and nods. She hands Pine the gift, her stomach flopping at having to let it go, but he handles it carefully, setting it down on the table gently. Diaz claps her on the back reassuringly. She follows Nedley away from the boys and towards the dance floor, frowning when he pauses. 

“I was going to ask,” Nedley starts. He stops for a moment and clears his throat. “I was going to ask if you would do me the favor of a dance.”

“Oh,” Nicole breathes out. “Of course, sir,” she says.

Nedley nods and offers her a hand, stepping onto the dance floor. Nicole can hear the guys snickering behind her, but she ignores them, finding Waverly’s eyes in the crowd. She’s talking to Chrissy and Perry, and she elbows Chrissy when she sees Nicole dancing with Nedley. Chrissy looks up and laughs, clapping a hand over her mouth quickly. Perry stares, open-mouthed.

“Always Something There To Remind Me” starts up, and she feels a little silly slow-dancing with Randy Nedley to a song that is somewhere between slow and fast, but she holds her head up and gently places her hand in his.

“It was a beautiful ceremony,” he says, his voice still heavy.

Nicole catches Waverly’s eye again and smiles. “Thank you, sir.”

“With you taking some time off, I was thinking of having Valdez come by the station and learn the ropes,” Nedley says. He turns her in a circle, maneuvering her around the dance floor. They sidestep Nathan doing some kind of weird move, Hayley on his hip. “I called the Academy and asked after her application. She should be getting her acceptance in the mail any day now.”

Nicole smiles widely. “That’s great!”

Nedley nods. “She’ll be a good addition to the department.” He looks down at their feet for a moment. “And she’s going to be your first trainee.”

Nicole falters for a second, but her feet catch up and she doesn’t stumble. “What, sir?”

“Your first official trainee,” Nedley repeats. “I think you’re ready to try it out.”

Nicole blinks hard. “Sir, I-”

“Now,” Nedley continues. “She’ll be easy, you know. She’s competent and dedicated and focused. She won’t be a challenge. Boys like Lonnie, or Champ? They’re the true test of your leadership skills. And I know you have them.”

Nicole ducks her head a little, feeling her face flush.

“Champ, a few years back, at the Fair? Lonnie, every week?” Nedley nods, almost to himself. “You have the makings of a leader, Haught. You always have. It’s why you’re my favorite.”

“Fav… Oh, no, sir, I’m-”

Nedley snorts softly. “Don’t pretend like you and everyone else in that station don’t know it.”

Nicole’s face flushes. “I know, sir.”

“At the department Canada Day party, Conlin had a few too many Molson’s and told me that they were thinking about framing a picture of you, to add to my desk,” Nedley says. He laughs a little. “He regretted that comment in the morning.”

Nicole’s eyes widen. “Is that why he was cleaning out the cruisers?”

Nedley lifts an eyebrow, but stays quiet, turning her in another circle. “You’re a smart woman, Nicole,” he says after a minute. “You’ve taken my advice, and you’ve really crafted something of yourself.”

Nicole opens her mouth to argue with him, but he glares hard and she closes her mouth instead.

“Department involvement in the community is at an all-time high. Property crime in Purgatory is down. That inter-department committee you put together is working well, and I’ve gotten a few compliments on your behalf from Mayor Hamilton,” he says proudly.

“I wouldn’t have done any of that without you as a mentor,” Nicole says, trying to catch Waverly’s eye again. 

Nedley shrugs a shoulder. “Maybe, maybe not. But the people like you, Haught. They think you’re kind and courteous. You listen to them. You heard what they said about all of the graffiti and smashed bottles down at the park, where the high school kids hang out, and you did something about it.”

She did do something about it. After the third parent complaint, from one of the kids on Nathan’s Little League team, Nicole had decided to pour her focus into that area of the park, doing late patrols in her own vehicle to get a feel for what was going on. When she realized high school kids were drinking in the park after the place cleared out of little kids, she floated Nedley her idea of a community patrol - one parent and one officer, assigned to walk the park during Little League games, community events, and every weekend, to cut down on littering and pump up on visibility. After her own night patrols of the area and a few talks with some of the kids hanging out there late at night, there was a decrease in vandalism and destruction.

It wasn’t completely, but Nedley is right; the community was happier for it. 

“You listen to them,” Nedley repeats. “You’re embracing your community, Haught. And they’re embracing you.” 

Nicole thinks about the notebook in her desk drawer at the station, the one with all of the tasks and hints and tricks that Nedley has given her. She’s checked so many of them off by now - she’s been the department representative at the preschool for years now; at the last University Day that Purgatory High held, she sent two kids to the Academy, and when she called to check up on them, they both had high marks starting out in the program; she’s been writing the schedule for years now, rotating guys in and out of the night shift equally, and taking the leftover shifts so no one else has to; the Neighborhood Watch program has every inch of Purgatory covered, and they’ve been able to reduce the high rates of patrols they were running for no reason; the filing system is finished and running smoothly, and she made it almost fully Lonnie-proof.

“I had a good teacher, sir,” Nicole says.

Nedley eyes her for a moment. “Take some ownership, Haught. There’s only so much I can teach you, you know. The rest is everything I can’t do, the stuff you just  _ have _ that makes you a good cop.” He pauses, eyes scanning the room before they settle back on her. “Which is why you’re going to make a great Deputy Sheriff.”

Nicole smiles. “Someday,” she says hopefully.

“How about when you get back from your time off?” Nedley asks.

Nicole falters again, tripping this time. Nedley tightens his grip, keeping her upright. “What?” she asks.

“I said, how about when you get back in a few days?” Nedley repeats.

“But, sir-”

Nedley cuts her off. “I know the time off is your wedding present, so think of your new rank as a ‘coming back to work’ present.”

The rest of the dance floor is moving around them, but Nicole is still staring at Nedley, her mouth hanging open. “Sir.” She snaps her mouth closed and shakes her head before she tries again. “Sir, are you serious?”

Nedley narrows his eyes. “Do I look like the kind of man that tells jokes?”

Nicole frowns. “Well, yes, sir. You told me a joke last week about the-”

“Haught,” he says firmly. “You have almost ten years under your belt. You’ve done more for this community than the Parks and Rec department. You have the leadership skills, the people skills, and the drive.” He nudges her backwards gently, prompting her to start moving. “I told you I need a replacement when I retire. I’ll be 57 this year and I don’t plan on working long past 60. I’ll have forty years on the job, and that’s enough for me.”

“Sir,” Nicole tries again.

“I need a new Sheriff, Haught. And you need to climb the ladder before you get there,” Nedley continues. “So, what do you say?”

“ _ Yes _ ,” Nicole breathes out. “Yes.”

Nedley smiles. “I was hoping you’d say that.” The song starts to fade out and he steps back. “The first minute you’re in the door-”

“I’ll be in your office,” she promises.

Nedley nods sharply and slips off the dance floor, leaving Nicole standing in the middle of it, trying to wrap her head around what just happened.  _ Deputy Sheriff _ , she thinks.  _ I’m going to be Deputy Sheriff _ .

Wynonna crashes into her side, her fingers tight around Nicole’s arm. “Come on, I want you to open your wedding present.”

“You know, people are supposed to open those  _ after _ the wedding,” Nicole says, still feeling far away.

_ Deputy Sheriff _ .

Wynonna ignores her, pulling her towards the table where Waverly, Chrissy, Perry, Doc, and Mercedes are standing. Doc has his body angled out, like he’s hiding something on the table. When they get close enough, Waverly reaches for her, an arm around Nicole’s waist. 

“You okay?” Waverly murmurs into her shoulder.

Nicole turns and kisses the top of Waverly’s forehead. “I’m not sure.”

Waverly pulls back, her mouth turned down in a soft frown. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s not  _ bad _ ,” Nicole says quickly. “It’s…” She looks around, but Wynonna is busy whispering something with Doc, and Perry is talking to Mercedes and Chrissy about something. “Nedley is promoting me.”

“ _ What _ ?” Waverly squeals.

Nicole shushes her, ducking her head a little to whisper. “Deputy Sheriff.”

“Deputy-”

Nicole claps her hand over Waverly’s mouth. “ _ Don’t _ ,” she whispers. “Not… not yet.”

Waverly nods slowly. 

Nicole pulls her hand back from Waverly’s mouth and smooths her fingers over Waverly’s cheeks.

“But we’re talking about this later,” Waverly promises. “Got it,  _ Deputy Sheriff _ ?” she adds.

Nicole feels her cheeks flush, but she nods and leans down to kiss Waverly.

Wynonna grabs her before she can, spinning her towards the table. She’s grinning and Nicole’s stomach tightens nervously. “Now, before you ask, I obtained this legally.”

Nicole groans. “Oh, god.”

Wynonna ignores her and taps Doc on the shoulder. He steps to the side and waves his arms in a flourish.

“Is that…”

“ Mötley Brüe,” Wynonna says proudly, her chest puffing up. 

Nicole picks one of the bottles out of the six-pack, turning it over in her hand. The label is bright yellow, with a pig on it. She holds it up to the light and makes a face at the bright, neon-like blue liquid inside the glass. “Is it radioactive?”

Wynonna rolls her eyes. “Of course it’s not.” She shoots Doc a sideways glance, but he shakes his head. “Definitely not.”

Nicole turns the bottle over in her hands, scanning the lyrics on the back. “ _ Back in ya face, such a disgrace. We're the generation swine. A rat race from outer space _ ,” she reads.

“It’s carbonated soda,” Wynonna says. “It’s supposed to make your pee green.”

Nicole laughs and holds the bottle out to Wynonna. “ _ Gross _ .”

“Gross?” Wynonna echoes. “This is the future! This is going to replace Orange Crush.”

Nicole narrows her eyes. “Don’t even joke about that.”

Wynonna shrugs. “It’s gonna change the world,” she says firmly. She hands the bottle to Doc. “Open that, would you?”

“My pleasure,” Doc says, grinning. He fishes into his pocket for a knife, flipping the blade open and positioning it under the cap. He makes a quick motion up and the cap comes off with a  _ pop _ . “My Lady,” he says, offering it Wynonna. 

Wynonna takes the bottle and puts it to her lips, tipping it back. She takes a few long swallows, humming happily when she pulls the bottle away from her mouth.

Nicole laughs loudly, clapping a hand over her mouth.

“What?” Wynonna asks.

Waverly stifles a giggle, nodding towards Wynonna. “You have…”

Wynonna frowns and wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. She looks down at her hand. “Wow, that’s really blue.”

“ _ So _ blue,” Nicole agrees.

“Electric blue,” Waverly says.

Doc nods, his mouth stretched into a thin line. “Positively electric.”

“Jolly Rancher blue,” Chrissy chimes in.

Perry looks over and snorts. “Wow, that’s a whole lot of-  _ Oof _ ,” he groans when Chrissy elbows him.

Mercedes wets her bottom lip. “Wow, Wynonna. Mack on a Smurf lately?”

Wynonna frowns.

“Oh, Wynonna,” Jeremy says, coming up next to the table. “Why is your mouth is blue?”

Wynonna’s eyes widen. “What do you mean, my mouth is blue.”

Jeremy turns his head slowly, looking at Waverly and then Nicole. “I mean that your mouth is blue?”

Wynonna looks at Nicole, her eyes narrowing. She holds out a hand towards Doc. “Give me your mirror,” she demands without looking at him.

Doc looks nervously at Waverly and Nicole. “I’m afraid I do not have a mirror.”

“Give it,” Wynonna growls.

Doc sheepishly takes a mirror out of his pocket, handing it to Wynonna. “Just in case a Lady is ever-”

“They know you check your moustache a hundred times a day,” Wynonna interrupts. She flips open the small, metal compact mirror and holds it up. “I don’t know what you guys are-”

Nicole laughs again.

“ _ Fuck _ ,” Wynonna whispers.

“Language,” Nicole says quickly.

“My mouth is  _ blue _ ,” Wynonna hisses. “I can say whatever the hell I want to say.”

“Electric blue,” Waverly repeats, fighting off a smile.

Jeremy picks up the bottle Wynonna drank from and giggles. “There was a review someone sent in my pharmacy mailing group that talked about  Mötley Brüe.” He looks around the small group, eyes shining. “It’s supposed to make your pee green, but it has so much Blue #1 that it ends up just staining everything blue.”

Wynonna looks down in horror at the back of her hand, a splash of blue across her knuckles. “ _ Staining _ .”

“Well,” Jeremy starts. “It’s used because of its desirable…” He trails off and nods slowly, eyeing Wynonna’s face. “You weren’t looking for an explanation.” He nervously smoothes his hand down his front. “Rubbing alcohol gets the stain out-”

Wynonna’s eyes flash and she takes off towards the small bar set up near the food tables.

“Of  _ clothes _ ,” Jeremy finishes.

Doc smiles brightly and claps Jeremy on the shoulder. “Alcohol will solve the problem,” he says kindly.

Nicole snorts, wrapping her arm around Waverly as Waverly leans into her. “I’m not drinking that.”

“Thank God,” Waverly breathes out.

“And it’s  _ not _ the new Orange Crush.”

“Of course it’s not,” Waverly says gently. “It never will be.”

“Damn right,” Nicole mutters under her breath. 

Waverly sighs softly and leans her head against Nicole’s shoulder. 

“I hope you’re enjoying your evening, ladies and gentleman,” The DJ cuts in, the microphone scratching against his lips.  If we could please have the brides on the dance floor for the mother-daughter dance.”

Nicole grins and hip-checks Waverly gently towards the dance floor. Her mom and Gus are already there, waiting for them. The opening notes of Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” start as Nicole takes her mom’s hand and spins her in a circle.

“What a beautiful wedding,” her mom sighs.

Nicole smiles. “Waverly was gorgeous.”

Her mom presses a hand against Nicole’s cheek. “So were you, baby.”

Nicole ducks her head.

“ _ No, I won’t be afraid. Oh, I won't be afraid. Just as long as you stand, stand by me _ .”

“When I got married,” her mom starts.

Nicole lifts her head. Her mom’s eyes are soft and wet. She starts to shake her head. “Mom, you don’t need to-”

Her mom shushes her. “I’m speaking.” She takes a deep breath. “When I got married, I thought it was forever.”

“Mom,” Nicole tries again.

Her mom shakes her head. “It took me a long time, baby. To stop being mad at myself for not knowing he was going to leave us.”

“It’s not your fault,” Nicole says firmly.

“I know that now,” her mom says softly. “But for a long, long time, I thought it was. I thought I missed something. I thought there was a sign I just didn’t see.” She squeezes Nicole’s hand. “It wasn’t until Waverly came over and we were looking at that pocketwatch.”

Nicole pats her hand against the weight in her pocket, where she put the watch after taking off her suit jacket.

“The way she talked about you, the look in her eyes…” Her mom smiles softly. “ _ That’s _ love, baby. That woman  _ loves _ you.”

Nicole looks up, swallowing heavily against the lump in her throat. She finds Waverly easily, watching her throw her head back and laugh.  _ My wife _ , she thinks.

“When I got married, I thought it was for forever,” her mom says again. “But I look at the way that Waverly looks at you, and I know I was wrong. What  _ you _ have is forever.”

“Mom-”

“Switch?” Gus asks her mom.

Her mom smiles and pats Nicole’s cheek softly. “I’m proud of you, baby,” she says quietly. She looks at Waverly and offers a hand. “May I?”

Waverly smiles brightly. “Of course.”

Gus slips into Nicole’s mom’s spot easily, picking up the step and moving them away from her mom and Waverly.

“Thank you,” Nicole says quickly.

Gus snorts. “For what?”

“For letting us borrow your cook,” Nicole starts. “For walking Waverly down the aisle. For-”

“Thank  _ you _ ,” Gus says, interrupting her.

Nicole frowns. “For what?”

“When we took in the girls, Curtis wanted the best for them.”

Nicole nods, remembering the conversation she had with Gus months ago in the kitchen at the McCready house. She thinks about Curtis and what he would do if he was here - he’d walk Waverly down the aisle, probably give a speech that would make them both blush, drop them off at their apartment with a wink and promise of breakfast the next morning.

“I don’t think he ever expected you, though.”

Nicole shakes her head, trying to clear the burn in her eyes. 

“You put Wynonna back together, even if she didn’t know she had fallen apart,” Gus continues. “And Waverly is happy. She’s the happiest person I’ve ever met. And it’s all because of you.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Nicole insists.

Gus laughs softly, her smile fading when she realizes that Nicole is serious. “You loved them, Nicole. You loved them when they both felt like no one ever would. You stood in their corners. You showed them what loyalty and faith and hope looked like. You let them pick you up when you fell down, and you did the same for them.”

Nicole can feel the tears building in her eyes and when she blinks, they roll down her cheeks. “I wish he was here,” she manages.

Gus clicks her tongue softly. “Of course he’s here,” she says. “He’s been watching this whole time. And he wishes you would have picked green.”

Nicole laughs. “That’s what Wynonna said.”

“Wynonna is smarter than she acts.” Gus spins her. “Do you want to tell me why her mouth is blue?”

“You should ask her that,” Nicole says. 

“ _ Oh, stand now, stand by me, stand by me. Whenever you're in trouble, won't you stand by me? Oh, stand by me… _ ”

Gus lifts up on her toes and presses a warm kiss to Nicole’s cheek. “Thank you, girl. From me and Curtis. Thank you.”

Waverly’s hand slides into her own as the song fades out and she squeezes softly. “You okay?”

Nicole swallows, not trusting her voice, and nods shakily. She blinks a few times, clearing the last of the tears from her eyes. She manages to keep them clear through the start of the dinner and up until Wynonna smacks the flat of her dinner knife against the side of her glass.

“Hey, losers,” Wynonna shouts.

The DJ turns down “Abracadabra” by The Steve Miller Band just a little. Nicole groans and looks at Waverly helplessly.

“What is she doing?” she hisses.

Wynonna goes around the table to the DJ booth and reaches for his microphone. “”I’m going to give a speech, so all of you hosers need to quiet down.” 

The table in the back with all of the guys from the station start to clap and cheer. Wynonna puts the microphone to her lips and glares at them. They sit down almost immediately, and Nicole looks down at the plate of food in front of her, trying to hide her grin. 

“So, most of you know... Nicole is my best friend. I know when she gave her brother’s ‘Best Woman’ speech a few years ago, it was all about how Nathan was the the best older brother in the world.” Wynonna pulls the microphone closer to her mouth, her words muffled. “It was grody.”

A laugh ripples through the crowd and Nicole slumps back in her seat.

“It’ll be fine,” Waverly whispers in her ear.

“So instead, let me tell you about the time I punched Nicole in the mouth,” Wynonna starts loudly.

Nicole groans and presses her face into Waverly’s shoulder. Waverly laughs and pats her gently on the top of the head.

“It wasn’t the first time I punched her, either,” Wynonna continues. She twirls one end of the microphone cord around in a circle, nearly catching Helen Gentile in the back of the head. “The  _ first time _ was right after my Uncle Curtis died.”

Nicole sits up slowly. Wynonna’s voice is low now, her eyes dark all the way across the room. Gus looks between the two of them, confused. Nicole had never told anyone that story, not even Waverly; she didn’t think Wynonna had either, but here she is now, telling  _ everyone _ .

“On the day of the service, I climbed a tree and refused to come down.” Wynonna looks down at the floor for a moment, and Nicole’s hand flexes against Waverly’s thigh. “Nicole, obviously, rolled up her pant legs and threatened to come up after me. She can’t actually climb trees, you know.”

Nicole feels her cheeks flush as a laugh ripples through the crowd.

“At least, when she was fourteen, she couldn't.” Wynonna shrugs a shoulder. “But that didn’t stop her from deciding that she was going to get up there.” Wynonna pauses again and swings the cord a little harder, the vinyl slapping against the backs of the chairs in front of her. “That’s the thing about our girl, you know. She might not be able to do it, but she’s not going to let that stop her.”

Nicole’s chest tightens painfully, and she presses a fist to the center of her chest, to try and relieve some of the pain. Waverly shifts next to her, her thigh against Nicole’s.

“So when I realized that she was actually going to try and climb that tree, I got down. And I was  _ angry _ . I mean, like, Mt. Fuji from Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling mad. But Nicole was totally veg and she didn’t get mad when I yelled,” Wynonna says. “I think that’s why she’s a great Roller, you know?” She finds Nicole’s eyes across the room. “ _ I’m _ the reason you’re a good Roller.”

“Because I spent my whole life policing you?” Nicole asks, the words almost sticking in her throat.

Wynonna smiles crookedly. “Nicole could have hit me back, you know. When we were out there rolling around in the woods and I was socking her in the face, she could have hit me back. But she didn’t. She let me scream and yell and mess up her clean, white shirt. And then she let me ride home on the handlebars while she did all of the work.”

Nicole feels Waverly’s hand on her thigh, but she can’t look away from Wynonna.

“To you, Nicole is the best damn Five-O in Purgatory. Sorry, Randy,” Wynonna mumbles. “To you, Nicole is the best community volunteer, the one you call when you need someone to check under your porch or fix a lightbulb. To you, Nicole is the best outfielder on the Purgatory Sheriff’s Department softball team. To you, Nicole is the second nicest person in Purgatory, right behind her wife.”

_ My wife _ , Nicole thinks.

“But to  _ me _ , Nicole is my best friend. And all those things you love about her…” Wynonna trails off, swallowing hard and finding Nicole’s eyes, holding her gaze. “All those things you love about her,  _ I _ loved about her first. So don’t go thinking any of you are special.”

Wynonna waves her hand across the room. You’re  _ all _ second-place.” She jabs a finger in Waverly’s direction. “You’re first place in a different race, so you don’t count.” She spins the microphone cord around one more time and pops a hip out, throwing her hair back over her shoulder. “And... that’s it.”

People clap in scatters, starting and stopping like they don’t know if they’re supposed to, and Nicole turns to Waverly, her eyes wide.

“That… that was it?”

Waverly bites down on her bottom lip, trying to fight a smile. “She’s  _ your _ best friend.”

“She’s  _ your _ sister,” Nicole mumbles.

“ _ You _ picked her, I didn’t,” Waverly says. She pats Nicole gently on the leg.

“Nedley Lite, you’re up,” Wynonna says. She spins the microphone around and around, ignoring the growing fear on the DJ’s face. 

Chrissy gets up from the table and smoothes down the front of her dress. She gingerly takes the microphone from Wynonna, stepping over the cord delicately. 

“My speech is a little more…” Chrissy trails off and shakes her head, unfolding the piece of paper she’s holding in her hand. She scans it and looks back up, nodding firmly at Waverly. “Waverly Earp has always loved Nicole Haught. Just like Purgatory has always been a small town, and The Patch has always had the best milkshakes, and Lover’s Lane has always been the best makeout spot in town.” She winks at Perry.

Nicole tries not to snort when Nedley narrows his eyes in Perry’s direction.

“When I first met Waverly, she wouldn’t stop talking about her older sister’s best friend. It was  _ constant _ . Through every up and every down. Through every boyfriend and every girlfriend and every month you guys spent apart. I’ve watched a lot of movies and read a lot of books, but I’ve never seen a love like theirs.” Chrissy moves a hand up and down her body. “It turned down all of this.”

Nicole can feel Nedley’s eyes on her now, and Waverly’s fingernails are digging into her thigh. 

Wynonna kicks the back of her chair incessantly. “You  _ what _ ?” she hisses.

Chrissy winks at her. “And despite it all - the other people and the distance and not using your words like they taught you to in elementary school, you guys never stopped loving each other.” She pauses for a moment. “I used to think there could never be a love like my parents. The way Dad talked about my mom was something I hoped I would find some day. And I did find it, with Perry.”

Perry ducks his head, his cheeks flushed.

“But I think it was only possible to find it with Perry because I got to witness Waverly and Nicole and their love story,” Chrissy admits. “Because of them, and because of my parents, I was able to find love myself. And Nicole and Waverly continue to inspire me every day.”

Nicole looks at Waverly and slides a wam hand down Waverly’s thigh, squeezing softly at her knee.

“So, today, you start the rest of your lives. Together. Just like it’s always been.” Chrissy lifts the glass in her hand high into the air. “To Waverly and Nicole.”

“ _ To Waverly and Nicole _ ,” everyone echoes.

Nicole leans over and kisses Waverly softly on the mouth. The crowd cheers loudly, and Nicole thinks she hears Nathan wolf-whistle again.

Nicole looks down at their hands, laced together in Nicole’s lap.  _ Waverly _ , she thinks.  _ My wife _ . 

 

-

“Oh, my god,” Nicole groans, shouldering through the door to their apartment. “I’m  _ exhausted _ .”

Waverly skips in behind her, her shoes hanging off her fingertips. “It  _ is _ 3am.”

“0300,” Nicole repeats, her eyes wide. “We stayed out until 0300?”

Nicole shuts the door behind them and looks around, shoulders dropping when she remembers that Styx is staying with Nedley for the night. She turns on the lamp that sits on the end table by the couch, wincing a little at the light as it hits her in the eyes. Waverly tosses her shoes and they land somewhere with a dull  _ thud _ .

Nicole drops her suit jacket onto the back of the couch and turns around, startled when Waverly is right behind her.

“We’re  _ married _ ,” Waverly breathes out, looping her arms around Nicole’s neck. 

Nicole grins, her arms loose around Waverly’s waist. “I know. You’re  _ my wife _ .”

Waverly’s eyes flutter. “I like the way you say that.”

Nicole ducks her head, her lips brushing against Waverly’s nose and cheeks. “ _ My wife _ ,” she breathes out. 

Waverly surges up, her nose bumping against Nicole’s before their mouths meet. They’re moving across the living room clumsily, backing up into the couch and then the end stand, the doorway to their bedroom and the dresser. Nicole feels Waverly’s knees hit the back of the bed when they come to a stop, Nicole nearly toppling Waverly over.

Nicole pulls back, slowing their kisses down until Waverly is standing at the end of the bed with her eyes closed, swaying slowly back and forth. Nicole grins, sliding her hands around the back of Waverly’s neck and tipping her head back, pressing a kiss to the hollow of her throat. 

“Baby,” she murmurs.

Waverly shakes her head. “The other one.”

Nicole grins against Waverly’s neck. “Babe?” she asks, kissing across Waverly’s collarbone. Her hands smooth across Waverly’s waist.

“No.”

“ _ Ms. Earp _ ,” she murmurs.

Waverly pulls back, her eyes suddenly clear. “You’re still cool, right? That I didn’t change my last name?”

Nicole straightens up. “Are you still cool that I didn’t change mine?”

Waverly nods slowly. “I can’t give up being an Earp. It’s the only thing Wynonna and I have left.”

Nicole brushes her thumb against Waverly’s jawline. “I don’t want my father’s name,” she says, repeating what she told Waverly the night they filled out their application for marriage. “But it’s not just  _ his _ name. It’s my mom’s and it’s Nathan’s and now it’s Hayley’s.”

“I know, baby,” Waverly says, leaning into Nicole’s touch. “I know.”

“But it’s okay,” Nicole promises. “You’re still my wife.”

Waverly’s eyes slide closed. “That’s the one,” she murmurs.

Nicole lets her fingers wander, taking her time. She sweeps Waverly’s hair to one side, kissing from Waverly’s collarbone across the back of her shoulder to where her dress is clasped together. She fumbles with it for a second before it comes undone. Nicole inhales sharply, spreading her hands out across the smooth skin of Waverly’s back. Waverly’s head falls forward and Nicole presses her mouth to Waverly’s spine.

_ My wife _ , she thinks.

She breathes the words against the small of Waverly’s back as she pulls the zipper down. She rolls down the lace sleeves, and Waverly lets them slide off her hands, pooling around her waist. Waverly turns around slowly and smiles, ducking her head. Nicole pushes forward, her hand at Waverly’s chin.

“Don’t do that,” she breathes out. “Don’t hide.”

Nicole smoothes her hands down Waverly’s chest, her fingers dancing across the bare skin. Her dress had been beautiful, but Nicole had spent the whole night wondering what she had on underneath it. She hadn’t even thought  _ nothing _ could be the answer. 

Waverly inhales sharply when Nicole’s fingers trip across her chest. She covers Nicole’s hand with her own.

Nicole looks up. “Okay?”

Waverly nods. “Okay. Just…” She reaches for Nicole’s bowtie, slipping her finger between the tie and the top button of Nicole’s shirt. “Can I take this off?”

“Okay,” Nicole breathes out. 

Waverly smiles softly and undoes the bowtie, tugging it loose and letting it hang from Nicole’s neck. She works the top button open, the backs of her fingers sliding cool against Nicole’s skin as they move down the platt of her shirt. She peels the shirt down and off Nicole’s shoulders, throwing it across the room.

Nicole makes a noise in the back of her throat, but Waverly keeps a tight grip on her undershirt.

“Leave it,” she demands.

“But-”

“Leave. It.” Waverly pulls the undershirt up and over Nicole’s head, tossing it towards another corner of the room. She turns and presses Nicole back until there’s nowhere to go but down. Nicole lands on the bed with a soft  _ thump, _ and pushes up on her elbows, watching as Waverly works her dress down over her waist, her hips, her thighs, and drops it into a pool at her feet. 

Waverly settles over her, a knee on each side of Nicole’s hips. Her hands move over Nicole’s body, white-hot and searing through her pants and across her stomach. She reaches for Nicole’s belt buckle, loosening it slowly. She lifts herself up just enough to work the waistband of Nicole’s suit pants down and behind her, catching on Nicole’s knees. Waverly skips a finger across the elastic of Nicole’s underwear and Nicole’s hips jump.

She knows it won’t take much; they’re both running on empty, the high of the day - of their  _ wedding _ \- settling down over them. They’re both clutching at each other, just needing to be close. She knows it’ll take one well-placed kiss, one press of a thumb, one small bite at her ear and she’ll go tumbling over the ledge she’s standing on.

Nicole inhales sharply when Waverly’s teeth nip at her collarbone, her hips jerking under the weight of Waverly’s. 

Nicole can feel the weight of Waverly hovering above her, Waverly’s breath hot against her ear, Waverly’s thigh heavy between her legs, and she breaks. Her body tenses, every muscle going taut. Waverly is still saying something, whispering something in her ear that Nicole can’t hear. It sounds like music, like a song Nicole has never heard before, but wants to never stop listening to. 

She comes down slowly, the feeling in her stomach ebbing and flowing until she feels tired and heavy and  _ happy _ . Nicole slides her hands over Waverly’s bare skin, flexing her fingers to test her grip before she goes to roll them over. Waverly’s hands come down on her own, stopping her.

“Later,” Waverly murmurs. “Right now, I want to be like this.” She rolls her hips decisively, her body flush against Nicole’s.

Nicole shudders, every nerve-ending raw and exposed. There’s something about Waverly like this, above her and proud, that makes Nicole’s stomach tighten. There’s something about the way Waverly takes Nicole’s hands and slides them up her body, over stomach, and settles them on her breasts, that makes Nicole’s body ache. There’s something about the way she starts to rock her hips back and forth, moving easily against the muscle in Nicole’s thigh, that gets Nicole’s heart racing.

It feels like she’s all revved up with nowhere to go, waiting on Waverly to pick a direction.

Waverly does.

Waverly breathes in, the noise breaking somewhere between Nicole lifting her leg just barely and letting it drop again. She leans back, changing the angle of her body, and runs a hand through her hair. Nicole reaches up, twisting the end of a strand that Waverly missed around her finger and letting it slide out of her grip.

“Can you?” Nicole asks, resting her hands on Waverly’s hips.

Waverly nods, pressing her palms flat against Nicole’s chest and pushing her hips down, her eyes flashing.  _ I can do it _ , Nicole thinks they’re saying.  _ Watch me _ .

Nicole watches, still amazed at the way their bodies push and pull and settle into each other, how they fit. She can’t look away from where their bodies meet, sliding against each other desperately. She’s not sure where she ends and Waverly starts.

Nicole digs her fingers into Waverly’s hips, urging her forward. Waverly’s chest is rising and falling, her fingernails scratching against Nicole’s chest and waist and thighs. She’s almost there, hovering on the edge between pain and release, her bottom lip between her teeth and her eyes closed tightly. Nicole angles her body up, presses harder with her thigh, and watches Waverly fall apart.

It moves through her, sending her body up and down until she slows, slumped against Nicole’s chest and breathing hard.

Waverly rolls, pressing her face into Nicole’s arm and letting out a stream of air that ghosts over Nicole’s bare skin. “That really happened,” she whispers.

Nicole snorts softly. “What did?”

“We got  _ married _ ,” Waverly says in awe. 

“We did,” Nicole agrees. “And everything went according to plan.”

“Well,” Waverly starts.

“No,” Nicole says. “Everything went according to plan.” She rolls, trapping Waverly in her arms. “The plan was,  _ get married _ . And we did that.”

“ _ Your _ plan,” Waverly argues. “My plan was-”

“The same thing, but longer,” Nicole says affectionately. “But at the end of the day, we’re  _ married _ .”

Waverly groans and tries to squirm out of Nicole’s arms. “You’re going to say that all the time now.”

“All the time,” Nicole agrees. “I’ve been waiting for forever to say it.”

Waverly stills for a moment. “Took you long enough,” she says.

Nicole’s eyes widen. “Take it back.”

“No.”

“Take it back,” she demands, digging a finger into Waverly’s side.

Waverly squirms, laughing. “No.”

“You’re a terrible wife,” Nicole decides.

“But I’m yours,” Waverly sings softly.

Nicole softens, her body dropping onto Waverly’s. “My wife.”

“Your wife,” Waverly sighs.


End file.
